Code Geass: Colorless Memories Redux
by NSBleach00
Summary: Rai, a boy who has no memories of himself gets found by Milly Ashford. From there, she and her friends try to help him while at the same time Rai gets caught up in a major uprising occuring in Area 11 and he must...Wait, hasn't this story been done before? Yes, that's right everyone, while the original was deleted before I am bringing Colorless Memories back on the net once again.
1. Stage 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or its character and I also don't own the character Rai from Code Geass Lost Colors. All these characters belong to Sunrise.**_

Code Geass: Colorless Memories Redux

Stage 1: Arrival at Ashford

 _"Run…and live."_ A voice cried out.

I heard a voice whispering those words repeatedly in my mind as I ran down the sidewalk. I didn't know why I was running, where I was going, or what I was running from to begin with. The voice told me to run so I just decided to do what the voice told me to do and ran.

But after sprinting down the sidewalks for what seemed like a long time my body started to twitch in pain and I started to breathe heavily.

After scurrying around a bit longer my body finally decided to give up on me. My vision got blurry and I fell unconscious on the sidewalk next to the entrance of what seemed to be a school.

(Third Person View)

At that exact same time Milly and Lelouch, high school students of a school called Ashford Academy, were talking to each other as they approached the school gates to close down the campus grounds.

"Sorry I'm late today, I suddenly had some pressing business with my grandfather. But since you always skip out on your classes this makes us even, don't you think so?" Milly called out.

Lelouch sharply responds to her taunt.

"So that makes it unavoidable huh? How many times have I told you that…" Before he could finish his sentence though Milly let out a loud gasp.

"Oh my gosh…What happened here?!"

"What is it…What happened?!" Lelouch quickly said as he was confused about why the girl was getting so worked up about.

He saw Milly waltz out of the school entrance and onto the sidewalk where a silver haired boy was lying face down on the sidewalk. The girl tugged on his shoulders trying to wake him up but the silver haired boy simply laid there with his eyes closed. Lelouch then arrived at the scene.

"Did he faint? His clothes…they are not a school uniform. What do you suggest we do Milly?

"Hmm…I wonder who this guy could be. Well, in any case we can't just leave him lying here. We better bring him to the infirmary." Milly said as she and Lelouch grabbed a hold of the silver haired kid.

"Move out of the way people, we have an unconscious man here…Guts!" The girl yelled out even though there was no one else there beside her and Lelouch.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Man, you are quite the slave driver." Lelouch said with an expression on his face that showed he wasn't very enthusiastic about bringing a stranger into the school.

(First Person View)

When my consciousness finally returned I noticed that I was lying on a bed in a room that looked like a school infirmary. I wondered how long it has been since I passed out. I then noticed that there was a girl wearing a school uniform that I didn't recognize. She was sitting on a nearby chair reading a magazine. She didn't seem to notice that I was awake yet. Hmm, I wonder…did she see me lying where I fell unconscious and decided to help me out? I guess I should let her know I have awakened. I then started to speak out.

"Where am I?"

The girl then finally noticed that I was awake.

"Ah, so you are finally awake I see? Hey everyone, come in here. He is awake now!"

After the girl shouted several other students wearing school uniforms came in. One of them, a guy with black hair who was a tad bit taller than me, stepped forward and began to speak.

"Your face says I don't know where I am. Well, we are the ones who are going to be asking the questions here."

The blond haired female student then raised her arm in front of the black haired boy as if to prevent him from speaking or getting any closer to me.

"Stop antagonizing him Lelouch. You will just scare him if you keep talking like that." The blonde girl said to the guy who was apparently called Lelouch.

The boy simply shrugged it off with a simple 'Hmph' as he continued to give me the evil eye. The girl then started to speak again.

"It's alright, you have nothing to worry about. You can safely ignore him. He is not that scary at all really."

" _I wonder about that."_ I silently thought to myself.

"Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Milly Ashford. I am the president of Ashford Academy's student council. I am also the one who helped you out."

"Ashford…Academy…"

"Yes, that is right. Anyways…After you fainted in front of the school gates we carried you over to the infirmary. You have been sleeping for several hours. You really had me worried there.

"You…were worried about me?"

The thought that someone was worried about me made me felt more at ease.

"Well of course. We had a nurse examine you while you were passed out to make sure you were alright, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong. In any case it is hard not knowing what to call you so could you tell us your name please. I really would like to know."

"My…name?"

As I sat there in silence for a few seconds something finally dawned upon me. That's right, what is my name? Who am I? I close my eyes trying to remember what my name was. After a few seconds of thinking the letters of my name finally started to resurface in my mind, at least my first name anyways. My last name seemed to have been wiped clean from my memories. For right now though I just hope that my first name will be enough for them.

"My name is Rai."

"Rai, is it? What an interesting name." Milly commented.

"So, who exactly are you…ergh!" Lelouch started to speak again but got elbowed by Milly.

"Let's introduce ourselves first before asking questions." She then turned towards everyone else in the room and shouted out.

"Come on everyone, let's introduce ourselves!"

Milly then turned back towards Lelouch and pointed her finger at him.

"We will start with you first since you are the one causing all the discomfort here."

He sighed and then looked forward to introduce himself properly.

"…Lelouch Lamperouge."

The guy standing right next to him, who had blue hair, then introduced himself.

I'm Rivalz…Rivalz Cardemonde."

Following him was an orange haired girl who brought a cheerful mood similar to Milly was the next to speak.

"My name is Shirley Fenette. It is nice to meet you!"

After her a Japanese looking brown haired fellow began to introduce himself.

"The name is Kururugi Suzaku. It is a pleasure meeting you."

Before everyone else got to introduce themselves Lelouch started to speak up again.

"So Rai, who exactly are you and where are you from?"

After a moment of silence I simply said…

"I don't know."

It was the truth. It wasn't until that moment that I realized I didn't know who I was, where I came from, or what I was even doing here. My name and the knowledge necessary to survive was the only information I had about myself. When I try to remember anything else my mind blacks out. It's as if all the memories I had about myself was placed inside a box and then stored into a safe which was then locked up and guarded by an unknown force, keeping me away from accessing them.

My inner thoughts were then disrupted when Suzaku began speaking.

"You said you don't know huh…Could you have lost your memory?"

"That's what it sounds like to me." This was said by Rivalz.

"Hmm, could he have amnesia? That can't be good…" Milly said in a sad tone.

"If that is the case then we should hand him over to the police. They will be able to protect him and help with any problems he might have. Besides, there is not much we can do to help him anyways." This was suggested by Lelouch.

Milly however had something else in mind.

"Well then, until your memory returns would you like to stay here at Ashford Academy?"

"Huh?" Lelouch and I both said at the same time.

Lelouch then went on to say…

"Madam President, what are you saying?"

"Ohh…That sounds like a great idea!" Rivalz said in an excited manner.

"You idiot, don't just agree immediately without giving it much thought!" Lelouch snapped out.

"Oh don't worry. I have already got everything prepared! I figured something like this might happen so I went ahead and got permission from my grandfather to let him stay if he wanted to."

"Madam President…Just like everything else this is all just for your own amusement!" Lelouch then placed his hand over his head and sighed.

"Sometimes I just don't know what to do with you." Lelouch said as if he was defeated.

He was right though. It is too dangerous for them to get involved with my problems. But I didn't feel like going to the police for help either. For some reason something was telling me that I couldn't trust the police and they wouldn't be able to help me out anyways. So, what was I going to do? Milly then started to speak up again.

"It might be dangerous, but everything will be okay! My intuition says so. Ever since I saw you, I felt that I shouldn't leave you alone as if fate has brought you here. So until your memory returns I will take care of any trouble that comes your way!" Milly confidently said.

Lelouch then chuckled to himself and after he brought out a brighter mood all of a sudden said…

"Apparently there is no helping it…the student council members are always helpless when it comes to her own crazy ideas, and then we always have to clean up after her mess."

It was settled then. Nothing that the other student council members or I could say was going to change Milly's mind. Whatever this woman says goes. I had a feeling of helplessness and defeat inside myself as I thought that.

"Well, then it is decided then. To stay here you will have to register with the school and find an appropriate place to stay. You will also need a sponsor. I will take up that position for you. Now, let's introduce everyone else. The one with the glasses there is Nina Einstein. The quiet one over there is Kallen Stadtfeld."

"Hello…" Nina said in a quiet tone.

"Nice to meet you." Kallen said in a soft tone.

"And last but not least the pretty girl sitting in the wheelchair over there is Nunnally."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Rai." Nunnally said in a polite manner with her closed eyelids.

Milly then walked over to where I was sitting and put her hand on my shoulder and whispered…

"By the way, she is Lelouch's little sister. If you do anything, even as much as touch her in any strange way, Lelouch will 'not' like that."

"I will make sure to remember that." I replied back.

"Good, in that case there is just one teeny thing left to take care of. Since you are now a student at this school the rule states that all students at Ashford Academy are required to be in at least one club or extracurricular activity. Since I have decided to be your sponsor and to make things easier for you, I will let you join the student council, which I am also in charge of. Is that okay with you?"

"Uh…yeah, I am okay with that…I guess."

Lelouch then smirked and said…

"You think you are okay with that now but expect a lot of paper work charging your way and you better be prepared to spend a lot of time hanging out with the council President."

Rivalz then got excited about a new member joining and said…

"Oh, wow! That is the third newest member of the student council this month. First Kallen, then Suzaku, and now we have Rai!"

"Well, now that we got that problem out of the way, I think it is time for all of us to head for bed. You can stay here in the infirmary for tonight Rai. I will have a place for you stay in by tomorrow. Are you okay with that?"

"Uh…yeah…"

"Good, and while we are on the subject I will show you around the school tomorrow so you won't feel lost while you are staying here. And remember; if you ever need any help don't hesitate to ask one of the student council members for advice. We will take care of any problem that comes your way."

"…Thanks."

"Good night and I hope you'll remember something in the morning."

"Yeah, me too."

After that Milly and her gang of colorful bandwagon of student council members left the infirmary room, leaving me all to my lonesome. I laid back down and started thinking to myself. Well this is some kind of situation I got myself into. I wonder how the me who had all his memories would feel about all this. Would he be happy to attend a school like this and meet all those people on the student council? Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it now. Until my memory returns I'm stuck playing school boy, which might have its own benefits. I wonder…what tomorrow will bring.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	2. Stage 2

Code Geass Colorless Memories Redux

Stage 2: Rai, the New Transfer Student

The next morning I woke up feeling much better than I did the day before. I guess spending last night to rejuvenate my strength did a lot of good for me. Yesterday my body felt weak and tired out but now I feel great. I got off the infirmary bed and started to stretch my body out.

A few seconds later Milly came barging right through the infirmary door carrying a uniform in her arms.

"Ah, good morning Rai. I see you have woken up."

"Oh, good morning Milly."

"So, do you remember anything yet?"

"…No, everything is still not clear to me yet…sorry."

"Ah no, it's okay. It's just going to take a while for you to recover from your amnesia I guess. Anyways, put this school uniform on. I had you measured when you were sleeping."

I was about to put the school uniform on when I suddenly thought of something.

"Wait a minute…How could you measure me while I was sleeping?"

"Well let's just say I have my own special way of figuring things out." Milly said that as she started to laugh out mischievously.

Oh great, I don't even want to know what else she might have done to me while I was sleeping. As I was putting my school uniform on I continued to listen to Milly speak to me.

"Since you are slender like Lelouch, it should fit you perfectly. Once you are ready I will show you where to go to attend your classes."

"Classes…?"

"That's right; the student council members all decided that the best way for you to recover your memories is to attend class. Receiving education might trigger something in your head. But you will just be a temporary student for now."

"I see…"

"Also, it was Lelouch who suggested the idea."

"Lelouch…?" I asked with a puzzled look on my face.

I then thought back to yesterday and remembered how nasty Lelouch acted towards me. Milly then interrupted my thoughts.

"I know Lelouch can act pretty harsh sometimes, but he really is a nice person once you are around the guy for a while. Lelouch is just overprotective of the things he cares about, especially his younger sister Nunnally, that's all. He might be cautious towards you right now, but after a while I bet he will come around and the two of you will be great friends."

I wasn't so sure about that.

"Well come on, we have to get to our classes and once classes are finished for the day I will show you all the different places that are on campus."

Try everything out, huh? I guess I could try to do different things if it will bring about clues that could lead to my memories.

Milly then guided me to the school building and walked with me down the hallway. She then stopped in front of a classroom and turned towards me.

"For now you will attend the same classes as the other student council members so you will at least be with someone you met yesterday. Also, I registered your name as Rai Thurston in the school computer, an alias since we don't know your real last name yet."

"Thurston…"

The name sounded familiar to me somehow but I didn't know why.

"Well, I guess I will be heading to my own classes now. When classes are over I will show you the rest of the school campus. See you later."

"Yeah…Later…"

Milly then went off to attend her classes as I went to mine. As soon as I entered the classroom all the students turned, looked at me, and started whispering to each other. They were most likely talking about me. Once the teacher came in he asked me if I was the new student. I replied to him that I was and then he ordered me to stand up in front of the classroom to properly introduce. I complied with his demands and stood right in front of the blackboard with a straight posture and folded my hands behind my back. I also had to quickly remember to use my fake last name before presenting myself.

"Hello everyone, my name is Rai Thurston. I don't really have much to say at this time since I'm only a transfer student, but I look forward to studying with you all."

After my very short introduction the teacher told me to find a place to sit down at so class could officially begin.

I then scanned around the room looking for an open seat. Most of the seats up front were already taken so I started to look in the back rows until Shirley called out while waving her right arm in the air.

"Rai, there is plenty of open seats back here. You can sit next to me."

"Oh, okay then."

I then walked to the back and sat in the chair to the right of Shirley's seat. Once I sat down Suzaku, who was sitting in the row right in front of us, turned himself around to speak to us.

"Hey Rai…So you are going to be taking the same classes as the rest of us?"

"Yeah, Milly thought it would be best if I took the same classes that all of you guys were in."

"You said your name was Rai Thurston right. So does that mean you got some of your memories back?"

"No, I still don't remember anything. Milly just made up a last name for me."

"You mean like an alias?" Shirley said as she joined in on the conversation.

"Exactly."

"Well, I'm sure you will regain your memories in due time."

"Hey, you three in the back, quiet down, we are just about to start a new lesson!" The teacher yelled to us from across the room.

"Y-Yes sir, we're sorry."All three of us said at the same time.

After listening to most of the lectures today I realized that I understood all the information in each of my subjects, almost as if I had already learned it before. Does that means I used to be someone who took their studying seriously, or was I some type of super genius. For right now I just didn't know.

* * *

Once my final class was finished I got up and was ready to go out the door when I saw Milly standing there waiting for me.

"So, are you ready to see everything Ashford Academy has?"

"Sure…"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"H-Hey, what are you…wha!"

Milly then grabbed my hand and took me to all sorts of locations the campus had to offer. We first went to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Everything served there was Britannian style food, but I had no problem eating there.

"Hey, is the food here alright for you? Are you having any trouble with it?" Milly asked as we ate together.

"No, not really…Though I do think the food tastes great." I responded to her question.

"Really…? I am really glad to hear that! I believe this is the first I have heard anyone say they actually liked cafeteria food." Milly cheerfully answered back as she wore an acclaimed expression on her face.

After we finished eating Milly took me all over campus and explained the main purpose of each location while pretending to act like a professional tour guide. Ashford Academy had all sorts of places such as a swimming pool…

"This is where our swimming club holds most of daily training sessions. When it is not being used by any clubs or physical education classes any students can have access to it, provided they get permission first of course."

"Hmm…" I mumbled to myself.

And an auditorium…

"This auditorium is used for several purposes. While it is mostly used to hold assemblies and sponsor several school events it is also sometimes used by sports club on rainy days and such."

"I see…" I continued to mutter to myself.

And even a chapel…

"And this here is Ashford Academy's very own chapel. Although, to be perfectly honest we don't really use for anything, not even to hold religious sermons or anything. Oh, but I do know that students sometimes come here when they wish to have a silent and peaceful moment to themselves so I guess there is that to consider."

"Is that right…" I murmured to myself again.

Apparently this agitated Milly.

"Hey Rai, were you even listening to me at all ever since this started?" Milly said as she stared at me with such a demeaning look on her face.

"H-Huh…Yes, of course I was." I retorted back.

"Then could you at least try to show more enthusiasm and excitement? Here I am giving this little tour just for you and yet I barely heard you say a single word. Don't tell me I'm gonna have to try and put you under one of my special 'guts' spells?"

Milly then started to look straight into my eyes with that mischievous smile of hers again.

"Huh...your…uh…what now…?" I answered back with a confused look on my face.

I didn't even understand the concept of what her 'guts spell' meant but something told me I would rather not know. Besides, even though she just got through saying how this was supposed to be a place for peace and relaxation, why do I feel so uncomfortable right now?

"Oh never mind. Jeezs, you seem to be more dense then being an amnesiac. But I suppose that is just something we can improve on later. Come on, let's continue on with the tour then, shall we?

"Ummm…Yeah, sure…"

After what seemed to be a brief awkward scene Milly continued to show me around more areas of the school grounds until eventually we made our last stop which was at the student council clubhouse.

"This is our clubhouse. We have all of our student council meetings here. We also hold several different types of school events here too like at the auditorium. This will also be the place where you will be staying on your time here at Ashford."

"Huh…you mean I will be living here?"

"Yes, since you are a 'special' student here I decided to let you live in here instead of one of the dorms. It will also be easier for me to keep an eye on you. Oh, and just so you know you won't be living here alone. Lelouch and Nunnally reside here as well. They will be like your neighbors.

"Lelouch and Nunnally?"

"You know Nunnally is in a wheelchair, right?"

"Yes, I think I remember that."

"Well it would be difficult for her to live in the dorms in her condition so my grandfather gave special permission for those two to reside in the clubhouse."

"I see…"

"Well, I'm sure the three of you will get along fine living in the clubhouse together. Oh my, look at the time; it's starting to get dark out here. I will take you to your room and then be on my way."

"Oh yes, please do."

She then guided me to the room that I will be staying in. Once we got there she handed me the key for the room.

"This will be your room for the time being. I hope you enjoyed your tour of Ashford Academy. I know I enjoyed it, even if you were acting shy through most of it."

"Oh yes, I'm thankful for you spending time to show me around." Even though I was thinking in mind…'Me, being shy?".

"Tomorrow we might try some other things out to help you regain your memories. Well, I guess I will finally leave you alone for the rest of today then. Good night Rai and I will see you in the morning!"

"…Yeah, good night."

Milly then left so I went on ahead to my new room. I closed the door and took a good look at the room. It was an average sized room, which was alright for me. I walked over to my bed to lie down. As soon as I did though there was a knock on my door. Man, what does Milly want from me now? I went to go open it, but when I did I found that Lelouch was standing there.

"Oh, you are Lelouch, right?"

"I see you remembered my name. Do you have a moment Rai?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I heard from the President that you were allowed to live here. While you may think of this place as your home and are free to do as you wish…"

"Ah yes…I'm much obliged to you both for that."

"But I'm here to talk for my younger sister. Please try not to, how should I put this, surprise her too much. She has an eyesight disability you see…so she is very sensitive to sound."

"I understand…I will try not to cause any trouble for the two of you then."

"Good, I will trust your words. Well then, I will see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see you later."

Lelouch then headed off to his own room so I closed the door and locked it this time. I then took a quick shower and then proceeded to head for bed.

* * *

(Third Person View)

Meanwhile over in Lelouch's perspective, he was just entering his room where he was greeted by a girl with green hair. She was simply known as C.C.

"So, how is our new neighbor? Did you get any new information out of him?" C.C. said as she was lying down on Lelouch's bed. Lelouch responded to her by saying…

"No, I didn't. I just had a little chat with him to ensure Nunnally's safety while in his presence."

"Hmph…A man without memories wouldn't know who he is loyal to or where he belongs. Besides, aren't you getting ahead of yourself about someone you have just met? I think you are being a little bit too paranoid about all this."

"Hmph…I'm being a little too paranoid huh? And you think someone as mysterious as him suddenly appearing to me after everything that has happened that last few weeks isn't a coincidence at all? Hah, I believe I have every right to be suspicious of him. For all I know, he could be a spy or agent sent from the Britannian Military or even possibly the Imperial Family...maybe even possibly from one of the other two superpower countries."

"Sigh…There you go again, delving into that big head of yours and thinking too hard about all this. So then, what do you plan on doing now regarding him?"

"For now I will let Rai live here and do whatever he wants. It will give me the chance to study him and figure out his true identity, and once I know who he really is, I will know how to deal with him."

"When that time comes we will all be amazed by who the real Rai is."

"Heh, perhaps we will be amazed." Lelouch said as he chuckled to himself.

C.C. simply sat back on the bed and smiled to herself.

* * *

The next day…

(First Person View)

It's another day, and also another day without my memories. I got up, put my school uniform on, and took a look at the clock. Hmm, it looks like I got up pretty early today. There is plenty of time before classes start. Maybe I will go take a walk around campus or something. I opened the door to leave my room but when I unlocked the door there was a red headed girl standing in front of my door. She looked like she was about to knock on the door but put her arm down when I opened it. This girl…I think her name was Kallen. She seemed a little surprised when the door opened.

"Oh, good morning…I see you are already awake."

"Oh…uh…Good morning..." I said nervously.

"I can see you are looking better than you did a couple of days ago. Milly told me to wake you up and take you to her."

"O-Okay...I guess I should head over to the school building to find her then."

"Ah, she is not at the school building. Milly is waiting for you in the clubhouse's student council room."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

"Come on, I will take you there."

We then began walking down the hallway together.

"So, how is it? Did you remember anything?" Kallen said trying to strike up a conversation.

"No, nothing yet."

"I see, I guess amnesia isn't so simple to cure."

Giving up on her question, she didn't seem very interested in getting an answer. I felt something awkward, like an invisible wall forming between us.

"Ah, you have woken up." Shirley said as she walked up to us.

"Good morning."

"Good morning Rai. Have you remembered anything?"

"N-No...nothing yet."

"I see, I guess that is to be expected though. 'Everything will be solved if you sleep well for one night!' I suppose that kind of reasoning doesn't really work."

The girl who had come just now had an overly friendly attitude which, compared to the heavy atmosphere surrounding Kallen gave me quite a relief. As Shirley joined us all three of us walked together until we heard a noisy voice from the other side of the door we were walking towards. It was a bright, familiar, cheerful voice.

"Come on, let's go in." Kallen said as she opened the door.

The three of us then proceeded to enter the student council room. Milly and Nina were in there waiting for us.

"Milly, I brought him here just like you told me to."

"Oh, you have successfully brought him here. Thank you very much for your efforts!"

Milly then turned towards me.

"Good morning Rai!"

"Good morning..." Nina silently said.

"Good morning." I said to them both.

I just then realized that I was completely surrounded by girls. Normally, any healthy young man would be delighted with something like this. But I only had a strange feeling of unease. Was I originally poor at these kinds of situations? Since I had no memories I lacked the self-confidence to understand the reason behind this feeling. Yes, it was like the feeling of being out of place. The feeling was not only directed towards my surroundings, but also towards me.

"So where is everyone else?" I said wondering where Lelouch, Rivalz and Suzaku were.

"I got them doing something else for me right now. So, have you managed to remember anything yet?"

I just quietly stood there.

"What is it? Are you actually a wandering prince?! An agent from the Chinese Federation?! Or, maybe even a time traveler from the future?!"

I think her imagination was getting too wild.

"I still haven't remembered anything yet."

"...I suppose that is to be expected."

"Sorry…"

"Ah, there is nothing for you to apologize for. I'm the one who is sorry, for being so overeager just now."

"Everyone was called here for the same reason right?" Kallen began to speak.

"Kallen too…? I was asked to come here not that long ago as well." Shirley quickly shouted out.

"Truly, I'm sincerely sorry for that." Milly said to the girls and then continued on.

"I called you all here to help come up with ideas of how we can help poor Rai here recover his memories. So, any ideas here?"

"Why don't we try a change of pace? We could try looking around several places in the Settlement."

This was suggested by Kallen.

That may certainly be true. Instead of simply staying on school campus I should seize the chance to find something outside that can trigger my memories to return.

"That's right, you will probably remember if something out there triggers it. It is better than just sitting around and worrying, right?" Shirley said agreeing with Kallen.

"Then in that case, I will leave guiding him to you, Kallen." Milly said with her hand held forward.

"Eh…Why me?" Kallen said confused.

"It's the 'person who brings up the subject who must be the first to act upon it rule. It is a law common around the world." Milly said to Kallen.

"Isn't it fine? It's a law that nothing can be done about." Shirley then proceeded to say.

"Hey, that is just for your own convenience! Ah...I mean, that sort of thing is just too much for me...And I don't really know the area that well..." Kallen snapped at them at first but then continued speaking in a quieter manner as if to hide her real emotions.

"Really…It is just that, Kallen has been showing her face at school more recently so I thought you had a good recovery." Shirley then said.

"Exactly…Then, as the student council president, I hereby nominate Kallen as Rai's official helper." Milly said as she was doing what appeared to be twirling an invisible wand in her hand.

"Huh!?" Kallen then spoke out.

"All those in favor, say I. I!" Milly shouted out enthusiastically.

"I!" Shirley shouted out in a similar manner to Milly.

"I..." Nina quietly said.

"The decision has been approved by majority vote! This emergency resolution by the student council shall be implemented. This is the order of the student council president!"

"That is just..."

"This is okay with you too, right?" Milly said looking at me.

"Uh…Well…I guess I don't mind."

"It is settled then, as soon as school is finished today you will both meet and carry out the plan at the settlement's public park. And now, since classes are about to begin you are all dismissed!"

Kallen looked down in disappointment. After various things happened it seems like Kallen will be guiding me around for a while. Although she didn't say it I could tell Kallen was not at all happy about being forced into helping me and it made feel bad. But at least it's better than me just hanging around here in the clubhouse like an ornament. I have to find the mysteries to my past as soon as possible, for everyone's sake. For the time being, I will try not to forget to go to the park after school. I just hope we will be able to find something there. Something connected to my memories.

I left the room by myself and headed to my next class. The classes today pretty much operated like they did yesterday.

* * *

Once all my classes were finished for the day I decided to go find the park. I definitely did not want to be late. I headed out and while crossing the courtyard I heard a voice call out to me. It was Suzaku.

"Hey, Rai."

"Ah…Suzaku."

"How are you doing? Is there anything inconvenient in your life right now?"

"Oh no, I am all right."

"I see. If there is something that is bothering you please feel free to tell me."

"In that case could you tell me how to get to the park? I'm not exactly sure where everything is outside of school campus."

"Sure thing…The park actually is not that far from the school and I was about to head out myself anyways."

Suzaku then guided me off school grounds and towards the park. We started to have a discussion on our way there.

"Thanks again for spending your time to help me."

"Anytime, because everyone else is also trying to help you…Just like they did for me as well."

"For me as well…? Did you lose your memory too?"

"Ahaha, no, no, it is not like that. I came to this school as a new student recently as well. However, in the respect that neither of us knew right from left when we first came here we are somewhat similar don't you think?"

"I guess so."

"When I first came here the other students keep their distance from me. But in time some of them started to show kindness to me, in particular, the people from the student council. So therefore, if there is anything you need you can rely on me. For me, that is how I want to repay the favor they did for me."

"I see. I understand what you mean."

But really though…everyone is making such a fuss in wanting to help me to this extent, even though I haven't even been here long. However, it is thanks to their kindness that I'm here now. I'm grateful for that. Maybe I should rely on everyone a little more and open up to them.

Soon enough the two of us arrived at the park.

"Well, this is where you wanted to go right?"

"Yes."

"In that case I will split with you here. I have some work to go do. Later."

"Yeah, see you."

I parted ways with Suzaku here. The location of my appointment with Kallen was here in the Settlement Park. I had intended to arrive here a little earlier than the agreed upon time but I found Kallen already there waiting for me. She was talking on her cell phone to someone and I could hardly hear what they were talking about.

"Yes, that is right. I will not be able to head out with you guys on tonight's mission. I'm stuck doing work for student council. You can go ahead and tell Z-..."

Kallen then turned and saw me approaching so she quickly twirled back around and said…

"I'm sorry, but I have to go now."

She then turned off her phone and put it away.

"Ah, you came." She said as if she was trying to act natural.

I decided to play along with her and pretended that her phone call didn't happen.

"That was the promise after all."

"...You didn't hear anything about what I was talking about on the phone, did you?" Kallen said as she put her hand into her pouch.

"Not really…although I did hear something about a mission happening tonight though."

"Ah yes that…you see…I was talking to my friend on the phone about this online game I play with them at night."

"Oh, I see."

"…Um, please don't say anything to the people at school about that okay?"

"Don't worry. I won't say anything."

"Good…"

Kallen then started to look around our surroundings.

"You know, this is a convenient place for people to meet, isn't it? Although it does get crowded during the holidays."

Kallen was trying to change the subject now.

"Uh…yeah, I guess."

"Well then, we should get going now."

Kallen then started to show me around while giving a tour of the settlement. She took me to the marketplace first and then showed me other parts of the settlement and as she did I began to discover the true nature of the place I was at.

Tokyo Settlement…The Britannia within Japan…Area 11…The former Japan is now Area 11. This city of Japan now the city of Britannia. In the end, where was this place? This out of place feeling...Yes, it was the same as me. I had no memories yet I still had the knowledge needed to live. And yet I didn't know who I was. Who was I? A hollow city…A hollow me…I wonder who would understand the true form of this city?

"What is it? What are you thinking about?" Kallen said looking at me.

"Huh...Nothing in particular."

"Is my guiding boring to you?"

Kallen's words were slightly harsh towards me. But then again she had been coerced into being my guide so I suppose it was not unreasonable of her to feel that way.

"I'm…I'm sorry." I said as I bowed my head.

"Eh?"

"You have been keeping somebody like me company, someone who doesn't even know anything. I know that Milly and the others pretty much forced this task to help me onto to you. And while I understood that you gave the impression that you did not want to help directly I did not do anything to prevent that. I'm truly sorry for that."

Kallen just stood there as I said that.

"I really am..."

"It is fine...Don't worry about it." Kallen said that as she gave a weak smile.

It was dark by the time we reached the middle of the settlement. Kallen seemed ready to call it quits for today.

"Well this is today's spot. Were you able to divert yourself a little?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Well I hope that you will remember something. So will it be fine if we meet each other at the park for our next meeting as well?"

"Sure..."

Kallen and I then started to part ways. While she held back in keeping it simple and showing only the main points I could now safely guide myself around the settlement to the places I needed to go for my everyday life. I was ready to head on back to Ashford when I bumped into someone wearing a brown uniform and hat.

"Huh? What are you doing in a place like this Rai?"

"You…You are..."

"It's Suzaku. Kururugi Suzaku."

That's right, Suzaku. However, that wasn't a school's uniform he was wearing. It looked more like an army uniform.

"I'm sorry Suzaku. I couldn't recognize you wearing that uniform. It's not a school uniform is it?"

"Ah, these clothes? That's right...I haven't told you yet but I'm doing some work for the army."

"You work for the army?"

"Well, it is more like I'm helping them a little I guess...Leaving that aside what are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Well I was with Kallen just a little while ago. She was giving an assignment by Milly to give me a tour of the Settlement to help trigger something for my memories. I don't remember anything about my past yet but I do have a clearer picture of the Settlement now. I was about to head on back when I ran into you."

"I see…In that case you wouldn't mind if I guided you back to Ashford just to make you return safely."

I know that earlier today Suzaku said that if I ever needed help I could rely on him. However, I was wary of Suzaku after hearing he was working for the army. I didn't understand the reason for it myself. For some reason though I just didn't trust the Britannian military. But for now I will accept his offer.

"If it is not a problem I would appreciate it."

"I was heading back towards my workplace which is near the school anyway. So it is really not a problem."

"Thank you."

"Remember what I said earlier today, if you're ever troubled about something feel free to talk to me about it."

"Yeah, sure..."

Suzaku seemed to be truly worried about me. For some reason the wariness that had welled up inside me towards the army didn't vanished. However, it didn't seem like I had to point that wariness at this person. Suzaku and I then headed on back to Ashford Academy. We soon made it back there in no time.

"Well, here we are. I guess I will see you tomorrow in class."

"Yeah…See you."

Night had come. Under the moonlight the world danced. As did both the Britannians and the Elevens. As I looked up at the moon of the beautiful night sky I thought about the circumstances surrounding the night sky that I would see in the future. What did the moon in my memories look like, I wonder? As the moon rises I will remember someday. But was I allowed to believe in that...?

Moving on to the next Stage…


	3. Stage 3

Code Geass Colorless Memories Redux

Stage 3: Discovering One's Interest

Today I was spending my morning running around the school grounds doing errands for Milly. Since I got up pretty early today I thought it would be best to go walk around and get some fresh air before heading off for class. But then I unfortunately ran into Milly, who had a job ready for me to do for student council. I had to go hang up flyers and posters for future school events all over the campus. Once I was finished with my duties I headed on back to the clubhouse to report to Milly. When I opened the door for the student council room I saw Milly sitting on the table with her legs crossed chatting with Nina who was on the computer.

"Milly, I finished hanging up the posters and flyers."

"Oh I see, and are you sure they were hanged up where everyone will see them?"

"Yes, I'm sure everyone will see them."

I mean come on; those posters were so huge I could probably see it from a mile away.

"Well, good work Rai. That completes your duties for the student council. I don't have anything else for you to do right now so you can go head to your first period."

"Well alright, I will speak with you again later then."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?" I said as I stuck my head back in.

"Whenever you have the time you should go check out the school library. There are tons of books and magazines there with information on just about everything. Who knows, maybe something will jog your memories if you look into it."

"Yeah, I will make sure to look into that."

"You do know where it is right?"

"Don't worry…I know where it is. I will see you later."

"Sigh…I know he doesn't remember anything about himself but he needs to show a little bit more expression." Milly sighed to herself after I have already left the room.

Now that I was done with student council work I headed for the school building. But before I could open the door several boys ran out all at once from inside, knocking me over and unintentionally stepped all over me with their shoes. Ergh…What was that all about? I turned around and saw them running straight towards the school gate. In front of them was a black limousine parked in front of the gate. Dozens of other boys ran over to the car as well, all screaming and getting all riled up.

"Good morning, Kallen!"

"Are you feeling okay today?"

"If it is too hard I will carry your bag for you."

"Hey, you…Gaining an advantage like that is against the rules!"

"There isn't any such rule!"

Geezs, what a commotion. I walked over there as well, but I had no idea what the reason for this uproar was. I stood outside the group of students and cautiously peeked between a gap in the crowd to see a red-headed girl get out of the car. It was Kallen. The eyes of all the male students were focused her.

"What's up…See something you like?"

Rivalz then suddenly appeared before me and gave me quite a surprise.

"Uwah…Rivalz…"

"Oh I see…you got a thing for her, don't you?"

"No, it's not…"

But Rivalz apparently didn't hear me and kept on jabbering.

"Kallen Stadtfeld…They say she is sick or something. She barely showed up at school last year either. Still, her grades are at the top of the class. She is also very popular among the boys on campus. Therefore this sort of thing happens every time she comes to school. And she is a member of the Stadtfeld family which means she is well bred and rolling with money. Man, you sure know how to pick them."

"I just told you it is not like that."

"Ah, you don't have to hide it from me. Though she is a touch too sheltered if you ask me."

The crowd of males suddenly broke up and Kallen came forward towards where we were standing.

"Good morning Rivalz, Rai."

"Oh, good morning…Kallen." I said.

"Good morning…Are you feeling well today?" Rivalz asked.

"Yes, since if I miss class too much I won't be able to keep up with my studies…"

"Yeah, I thought you would feel better today since you were hanging out with Rai yesterday in the park."

Hearing Rivalz say that caused me to shake up and Kallen to look down slightly as her cheeks reddened. The next moment I felt glares of killing intent concentrated on me from the crowd of male students.

"W-Where did you hear that from?" Kallen abruptly asked.

"Well Madam President told me of course!"

"Speaking about that we will be meeting each other again in the park today, right Rai?"

"Uh…yeah…"

"Well, make sure you don't forget and I will see you later."

After saying that Kallen bowed her head and headed towards the school building at a slow pace. With eyes full of killing intent the male students glared at me once more, chased after her and headed to the school building as well.

"Oh boy, how unfortunate! Now you will have to keep an eye out on those guys. It will get serious from now on."

"Huh…What are you talking about?"

"Well, it is because those fellows are very enthusiastic about Kallen. Though once they find out that you are not interested you will be able to rest easily. However, you have to endure until then! Though it may be depressing be careful for the time being okay?"

Rivalz slapped my back in spite of the fact that he was smirking and laughing. He was starting to get a little too happy and cheerful from my point of view.

"I don't really get it but…okay."

"Well, we better head off for our classes too."

"Right…"

We both then headed off to class.

* * *

After lunch I went over to the school library to see if anything there will help me remember something. When I got there I picked up some books and sat at a table to read them. Even though none of the books I read gave me any clues to my past I did learn about the world's history like Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire, the adventures of Marco Polo, the failed American Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte and the formation of the E.U.

The last book I read was the most interesting one to me. It was about the history of Japan and contained information like how the Sumeragi clan gained nobility, famous martial artists and shoguns, and how Japan became part of Britannia and is now known as Area 11.

Apparently, back in the year 2010 a.t.b. Britannia invaded Japan in what was called the Second Pacific War. Britannia easily overwhelmed Japan with its new weapon, the Humanoid Autonomous Armored Knight called the Knightmare Frame. Britannia then took over the land, secured the sakuradite stored in it, renamed it Area 11, and the Japanese were given the alien name Eleven.

What sparked my interest though was the knightmare frames. I didn't know why, but I was fascinated by the looks of those machines and I wanted to know more about them. I began roaming around the library looking for a book about Knightmare Frames but couldn't find one. So I then decided to look them up on a nearby computer. Let's see, the first knightmare used for battle was the 4th generation knightmare called RPI-11 Glasgows. The Glasgows were used to easily defeat Japan back in the Second Pacific War. After showing overwhelming results Britannia began production on newer, better knightmares which led to the creation of the 5th generation knightmare, RPI-13 Sutherland. Britannia also began producing knightmares used to counter other knightmares used by terrorists and other countries, called the 5th generation anti-knightmare frame unit, RPI-209 Gloucester. Today, knightmare frames are the focal point of war and other counties such as China and the E.U. have begun making their own knightmare frames to keep up with Britannia. Even now everyone is trying to produce newer, more powerful frames like...

"Oh hey, there you are Rai. I finally found you."

I was shocked to see Suzaku coming in. I didn't want someone like him, who was part of the military, to see me researching knightmare frames on my computer screen so I quickly exited the page I was on.

"Hello Suzaku…What's with the worried face…Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, you weren't in your last three classes. Everyone started to worry and thought something happened. We told Milly about you. She suggested that you were in the library and luckily I found you here."

"…I see. So everyone was worried about me huh?"

Even though I have only been here a few days everyone on student council was worried about my sudden disappearance.

"So, what exactly were you doing here anyways?"

"Well I figured that with all the knowledge this library has I would find something to trigger the return of my memories but I ended up finding nothing about myself."

"Man, it seems like your memories are locked up somewhere tight in your head."

"Yeah, it sure does feel like that to me. By the way which period is next anyways?"

"The last period of the day."

Oh, thank goodness Suzaku came by when he did. I probably would have forgotten that I had to meet Kallen in the park after my last class. We both went to our class and after that I headed on out to the park to meet Kallen. Suzaku offered to guide me to the park but I told him I knew my way there by now.

* * *

Just like yesterday, Kallen was already there waiting for me at the park. Once she noticed me we began to walk around the settlement. I noticed that today the weather felt good. The rays of the sun were bright, the sky blue and high. I liked this kind of sky. Wait a minute, I like it? This kind of sky? Just when and where did I come to like it? I couldn't remember. Was the current sky similar to the sky I had known long ago? Was the sky I had come to like the sky of Area 11, Japan, or was it the sky of Britannia? I couldn't discern between my knowledge and my memories. I knew of a place once called Japan. As well as a country called Britannia. Kallen noticed that I was thinking about something so she started to speak up.

"Again..."

"Huh…"

"You were thinking about something again."

"Oh, ah...Sorry."

"That might be a good thing actually. If something occurs to you in your mind it might trigger the return of your memories."

"It would be good if that was the case."

"What were you thinking about?"

"I definitely know this place…Like the Elevens would."

"...Just as I thought, you also call them that."

"Huh…what?"

Kallen shot a disappointed look at me. Did I say something wrong? I wasn't really sure what it was. The two of us sunk into silence as we stared away from each other. The only thing that was moving was time.

"It's that word, Eleven...This place is actually the country called Japan, and the people called Elevens are really Japanese, and yet, people still call them that."

"Somehow, I understand what you are saying. I don't know how to explain it, but I understand quite well what you are trying to say. I'm certain that, among the memories that I lost, there were things about this country of Japan and about the Japanese."

This situation could, by no means, be mended from mere words. I just tried to express what I was feeling. At those words Kallen's eyes softened.

"I see...Could it be...that you were born in Area 11?"

"But you see, the thing is, I also know about the country called Britannia. Like Japan, I also intuitively know things about Britannia. It all just makes me feel more confused."

It was like I was always slanted somewhere in my mind and never able to fix on any one feeling.

"So you are neither an Eleven nor a Britannian then?"

"Hard to say, for all we know, I might be both an Eleven and a Britannian."

"Both an Eleven...and a Britannian…"

This time it was Kallen who was deep in thought. What did I say to make her so strangely thoughtful? After having spoken with Kallen, I felt I could now clearing explain this feeling within myself. Though, that was just ascertaining one of the sources of my confusion. I still knew nothing about myself.

"But still, you may have moved forward a little."

"I wonder…will strolling idly like this really bring about results?"

"Yes, it will. By going around and seeing more you might remember more. And you are not alone; everyone on student council is pitching in to help you."

"I see…Thank you."

"Of course, I am the person in charge of helping you after all."

Kallen's phone then started to ring.

"Oh, um…sorry, I have to answer this.

She then turned away from me, walked a distance to where I wouldn't hear her and answered the phone. When she finished talking to whoever was on the other line she came back to where I was standing with a disappointed look on her face.

"I'm sorry Rai…I know I am supposed to be your helper and all but there is some important business I have to attend to. I truly am sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about me. I am sure that whatever you need to do is very important right?"

"Um…Yeah…"

"I will be fine on my own. I think I got this area figured out by now. You just go do what you need to do."

"Right…I really am sorry that this had to happen. I will be sure to help you find your memories some other day."

Kallen then headed off to tend to her business. Truth be told I was a little curious about what she needed to do, but I wasn't going to force her to tell me.

* * *

Now I was by myself in the settlement. While turning my eyes in every direction to see if something touched my memory I unintentionally walked toward the shopping mall in the downtown area. I then suddenly heard someone call out from behind me.

"Huh…Rai, what are you doing here?"

When I looked back, I saw Shirley there giving me a cheerful smile.

"Oh Shirley…Why are you here?"

"That's my line…I'm here shopping! Since my diary has been filled up I am going to buy a new one…Oh, I know! Hey, are you doing anything right now?"

"…Well, I am not doing anything right now in particular."

"Well then, why don't you come shopping with me? I would like you to help me choose which diary to buy."

Shirley peered at my face. I was a bit startled by her very friendly atmosphere.

"I don't really mind but…Why would you want to go with me?"

"Why…Because we are both in student council…The way I see it that makes us friends."

Shirley smiled as she said this. So I'm her friend huh…

"I-Is that so…So, which store are you going to?"

"First, let's go to the place at my favorite stationary."

As she said that Shirley turned around and began to walk in the direction of a store. She then entered a completely normal looking stationary store. I decided to follow after her.

At the diary section of the store there were all kinds of diaries in stock of various sizes.

"Hey, don't you think this one is cute?"

"Yeah, but look at the price."

"The price…What…W-Why is it so expensive?"

We carefully considered each of the insides of the various diaries and then finally she picked out a diary.

"…Yes, I will take this one! I have decided on this big red diary! Red is a cute color and it is big enough to write in a lot of memories. Hey, don't you like it?"

"I agree…The price is also reasonable."

"…You are only worried about the price! You boys are all the same."

"Huh, is that so…?"

Maybe money wasn't a big issue to her? It seemed as if there was no room to speak honestly about only the price. Shirley then laughed at my confused face.

"But thank you very much though! I was glad to be able to choose one together with you."

Once Shirley finished paying for the dairy at the cash register we both left the stationary store. Shirley hugged the paper bag with the valuable diary inside.

"Thanks to you, I managed to get a good buy today. Well then, it's time to go home."

"…Yeah."

I didn't find the key to my memory but I think that I had fun spending time with Shirley. Shirley went on home while I stuck around the mall to keep looking around. When it became obvious I wasn't going to discover anything here I headed on back to Ashford Academy. The sun was starting to go down anyways.

* * *

When I returned to the clubhouse, at the entrance I came across…Milly Ashford.

"So, do you think this is a good school Rai?"

"…It's fine."

"For someone who is talking to the school principal's granddaughter that is a pretty bland response."

"Sorry…"

"Even if you apologize it's still a problem. Well, it is true that you have no memories and are uneasy in a place you don't know, but if you are so gloomy all the time then your memories probably won't return. First, you have got to enjoy the life here, ENJOY IT, right?"

"…I will try to make an effort."

"You are still too stiff. STIFF! You have to use a cheerful pop style. Come on, smile!"

"Smile…You mean like this?"

I tried to pull off a smile but it just didn't come out right for me.

"I'm sorry…Shall we move at your own pace? Your smile in particular needs practice."

"I…will just go at my own pace."

After Milly finally left I went on back to my room and went to bed.

* * *

The next day I was heading on out of the clubhouse when I noticed a girl in a wheelchair and a maid coming out of a room. If I remember correctly the girl in the wheelchair is Lelouch's sister, Nunnally Lamperouge. She seemed surprised that I was walking on by.

"Oh, is…someone there?"

"…Ah…"

"Miss Nunnally, it's that boy who came to this school a few days ago, the one that Miss Milly found."

"It's Rai." I said as I presented myself.

"Ah, no wonder I heard unfamiliar footsteps. Good morning Rai."

"…Good morning."

"How are you doing? Is everything okay?"

"Well besides having no memories, I am all right."

"If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask me or my big brother for help. We will be glad to help you out in any way we can."

"Oh, uh…sure…I will be sure to ask you two if the need ever arises. Please excuse me; I need to head for class."

"Well, see you later Rai."

It became unbearable for me to stay any longer, and so I left at a quick pace. What was with that carefree face? While I spoke I had felt some kind of shame inside me…I don't understand why talking to that face makes me uneasy.

* * *

Later on that day it was lunch break. The cafeteria was filled with many students who were enjoying their meal and chatting together.

"Hey Rai…How's it going?"

"Rivalz…"

Looking back with surprise I saw Rivalz eating ravioli and was beckoning me to the seat beside him.

"Don't you have anyone to eat with? Then let's eat together as two lonely guys."

"…Sure, why not."

I sat down in the seat next to Rivalz.

"By the way, you have probably been asked this several times this week but…have you remembered anything yet?"

"No."

"Is that so…well, you should take your time. You don't have to rush and be impatient. At any rate the president is the granddaughter of the school's principal. With a friend like that you can get by with anything you can want from around here. Besides, we are pretty lucky too. When we have a problem we can always get advice for everything right?"

"Yeah…I guess so."

"By the way…Don't you think there are a lot of cute girls in the student council?"

"Huh…Well, I suppose. What of it?"

"Is there anyone who you feel inclined to? If you like I can introduce you."

"No…There isn't anyone in particular…"

"Is that so…? Well, if you ever have a girl on your mind, please tell me anytime."

"…Well, then first of all I would like to hear more about Milly and then maybe a little about the rest of the girls on student council."

"All right then, the president treats people in a rough manner, but beneath that she is a wonderful and considerate woman! Well, to tell the truth I am also aiming for her. If you are also then we will do this fair and square without jumping ahead of the other! As for the rest of student council we already talked about Kallen yesterday so we can skip her. Now about Nina, well…Nina's shyness can get very extreme and then it becomes impossible to get close to her. As for Shirley, as you can see she is a fine, bright girl. She is also in the swimming club too…Their swimsuits are great! However, Lelouch is the likely winner here, even I have to admit. And last but not least is Nunnally. She may not be an official member but she's an honorary member to the rest of us. You already know for a fact that she's Lelouch's younger sister. And with her disability in her eyes and legs…"

Rivalz lost the light tone of his voice as his eyes became downcast. But he quickly looked up and showed a smiling face.

"But she is very gentle and is a good kid, you know? The problem is Lelouch is always doting on her. In order to go out with Nunnally, you will need his permission, which is very difficult to get."

I remember Lelouch's expression when he seemed crossed. Anyone who wants to call him brother-in-law definitely needs to have plenty of courage.

"Well…thank you very much for the information."

"Anytime…we better finish eating here and head on over to the clubhouse to do some paperwork."

"Oh yes…paperwork."

Ever since I exchanged words with Kallen at the school gate it seemed as if all the eyes in the school were looking at me with hostility. It wasn't only during class either. When I go out I was made last in line for lunch and in the bathroom as well. I'm not really being harmed so there are no problems. Even today as I was walking on over to the clubhouse with Rivalz I felt like I'm being watched. Rivalz seemed to have caught on and spoke up as we were sitting in the council room.

"Whoa, what's with your face? Are you still being marked by those Kallen fanboys?"

"I guess so."

"It is because those fellows are pretty persistent. If they cause any real harm you may want to get Kallen herself to say something about this."

"Good afternoon."

And what do you know; Kallen had come into the room with perfect timing.

"Oh, there are only two people here today?"

"That is because we finished eating early and decided to do some work for student council."

"Mmm…I thought that today was the best day for me to come."

Kallen put down the bundle of papers she had in her hands on the desk a little distance away from us and then sat down next to it.

"Leaving that aside you really need to deal with those admirers of yours somehow. Since that time at the gate Rai here has been watched by those guys the whole time while he is on campus."

"Eh, is that so? I am really sorry. However, it is not as if I am ordering it or anything. Besides, those people don't really mean any harm…"

"Don't bet on it. It may be okay now but as it is a mistake might occur eventually."

Kallen's expression fell, and just for a short while I really didn't like the face she showed.

"I understand…I will ask them to stop bothering you. I am sorry for causing you trouble like this Rai."

"It's okay, don't worry about it."

"Still, they will probably still keep fussing about you and cause various problems."

"Nn…Why am I so conspicuous even though I don't want to stand out as much as possible?" Kallen cried out.

"There are various people who should be shouldering the blame for this. Well, I think you should probably give up on being inconspicuous." Rivalz said.

I saw Kallen wearing a gloomy expression on her face. It may be that she can't accept Rivalz's viewpoint in the end.

"By the way Rai, I'm sorry to tell you this but I won't be able to help you after school today. I have some other important business to attend to again."

"What…You are skipping out on your duties for student council. If Madam President found out about this she'll…"

"No, it is okay. I understand that Kallen has her own personal matters to attend to."

"Thank you for understanding Rai. I will make sure I will be able to go with you next time. Well, see you later Rivalz, Rai."

Kallen then proceeded to leave the room.

"Man, I know Kallen is a sickly girl and all but I only have to wonder how one gets so sickly like that." Rivalz asked out loud once she was gone.

"Who knows…?"

* * *

Once I was finished with my student council work I was ready to go head out for the Settlement. Today it seems like I will be by myself the whole time. Before I got out of the school gates though, I saw Suzaku and a tall man with the appearance of a researcher walking together from a trailer across the street from the school. Noticing my presence Suzaku bowed to the man deeply after talking with him and then ran over to where I was.

"Hey, are you going out somewhere?"

"Yeah, I am thinking about going downtown today."

"To find some clues to your memories with Kallen, right?"

"Actually…I am going by myself today. Kallen isn't able to come with me."

"Oh, I see. In that case I will go with you."

"Huh…Is that alright?"

I looked at the man Suzaku had just been talking to as I said this. The man now seemed to be deep in conversion with a female soldier.

"Yeah, it's fine. It seems my work for today is finished."

Suzaku once again bowed his head to the man as he said this. The female soldier responded to us by giving a small wave of her hand. Though the man gave a thin smile it felt like I was being judged and appraised like some object by his evaluating eyes."

"That's my boss. It's okay since I talked with him about it. So, shall we go?"

"Well…if it's really okay with you."

Suzaku and I then headed onward towards downtown. I wonder if Suzaku will be any more useful in helping me find my memories than Kallen did.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	4. Stage 4

Code Geass: Colorless Memories Redux

Stage 4: A Friend's Hidden Feelings

Suzaku and I began walking around downtown looking for clues to my past. One thing I noticed however is that compared to the first time I walked around the Settlement with Kallen, who kept things simple and showed only the main points Suzaku would describe every little detail of whatever we were walking past. That was just the first time I walked with Kallen though. As time moved on she became more open to me.

After walking around for a while Suzaku decided that we should sit down somewhere and get something to eat. We both ordered a hotdog and sat down near some steps.

"So, have you learned anything yet?"

"You know, with all the strolls I had with Kallen and today with you, I feel like I have been learning more about the Settlement itself than about myself."

"That is not necessarily a bad thing is it?"

"I guess not…"

As we were talking the news was being broadcast on a huge television screen close to us. We ignored what they were saying until a person called Zero was mentioned. Hearing the name caused Suzaku to make a serious face as he turned towards the television screen.

"So, it's him again…" Suzaku started to mutter to himself.

"Who…?" I asked with a puzzled look on my face.

"Zero…" Suzaku said with a much more vigor tone of voice.

"Zero…?" I repeated the name while still confused about what Suzaku was saying.

I looked up at the screen and saw an image of a person in dark clothing and was wearing a black mask which covered his entire head.

"So, who exactly is this Zero?" I asked another question.

"That's right…you weren't here when he first appeared. Zero is the leader of a group called the Black Knights."

"The Black…Knights?"

"They made their first public appearance at Lake Kawaguchi. The Black Knights saved the Britannian civilians from a hotel incident caused by the biggest group of terrorists in Area 11, the Japan Liberation Front. Ever since then they go after people who cause harm to others, especially if it happens to be an Eleven."

"Well they don't sound so bad to me."

"Don't get me wrong. I don't mind that they are helping people out, it is just how they do it is what bothers me. If all they wanted to do is catch criminals they could have joined the police force you know. Why don't they I wonder?"

"Maybe they think the police are not up for it."

"The police might not be that effective right now but they could have change things from within the system…As long as they don't it is only self righteous posturing. What constitute evil in their eyes? What standards are they using? It is nothing but self satisfying gratification."

Suzaku…I can tell by the tone of his voice that he is not someone who agrees with Zero's ideals. I know and understand that trying to change things from within the system sounds like a good idea and all but…even I know it would be very difficult to change a country like Britannia from within, almost impossible.

I can also see how Zero's way of doing things work but I didn't want to completely agree with his way either. Suzaku continued to rant on about how Zero's way was wrong until I spoke out to him.

"Suzaku...I think that enough." I said as I interrupted his ranting.

He seemed to have noticed my concerns about him and quickly back to his kinder, usual expression.

"Oh, sorry…I guess I got carried away there."

I then quickly tried to change the subject.

"How about we talk about something else now? Besides, I don't think this Zero or the Black Knights would help bring my memories back."

"You are right Rai. I could never see you associated with the Black Knights anyways."

"Yeah…How about we go back to looking around?"

"Sure."

We began walking around the settlement again until it was pitch dark outside. After a while I then decided to call it quits for the day as we weren't getting anywhere and told Suzaku I was heading on back to Ashford.

* * *

When I returned at the entrance of the academy I gazed at the white moon that was right above the main school building. After I looked back down I noticed that the door that leads to the pool was open. Hmm…that looked strange. Why would the entrance to the pool be open at this time of night?

As I edged closer to the door I suddenly heard the sound of water from inside. It sounded like someone was dropping into the water as they dived in. Someone seemed to be swimming in the pool. While being cautious I decided to enter. Ahead of me the door at the end of passageway to the pool had also already been opened and it seemed like the sound of water was coming from there. Not wanting to take a footstep inside I walked down the passage and peeked inside from a gap between the door and the wall and saw…

(Third Person View)

Earlier…10 minutes before Rai came back to Ashford…

Moonlight seemed to be leaking from the hall's ceiling. The floor was illuminated in white. It was a large space with a diving platform with a height of 10 meters, and you could see the moonlight being reflected off the water's surface. Inside the pool area was two people, Lelouch Lamperouge sitting down while gazing at his laptop and C.C. wearing a school swimsuit who was taking a swim in the pool.

While C.C. was swimming and staring up at the moon Lelouch was on his laptop looking at the applicants of people who wanted to join the Black Knights. Yes, unbeknownst to everyone Lelouch Lamperouge holds yet another secret. He is Zero and also the leader of a group called the Black Knights.

Right now he was searching for possible candidates for the Black Knights. The profile he was looking at now was a Britannian male called Diethard Ried.

"Hmm…A Britannian? Looks too confident to be a spy…An extremist?

"Isn't it wonderful how the number of recruits keeps growing?"

"And it was simpler than I ever imagined. While I bitterly hate the Britannians I refuse to condone terrorism. That is the prevailing view of most Elevens."

"Then basically Elevens support the Black Knights for the most part."

"This in turn makes it easier for us to operate as a whole. It is a huge help that nobody reports our activities to the Britannian Military. The number of informants has been increasing quickly too. The Japanese can't resist jumping on the bandwagon. They hear a well grounded bus and off they go."

"Hence the knights for justice."

"Yeah well everyone loves a hero, and what better hero than a knight."

"I doubt that is what a real knight for justice would say."

"You don't think so?"

C.C. then suddenly heard footsteps and realized that someone was heading for the pool area.

"Lelouch, someone is coming."

While reacting quickly to what she just said Lelouch then closed his laptop and hid himself in the dark areas of the room while C.C. jumped back into the pool and started swimming again.

(First Person View)

As I turned my gaze towards the sound of water I saw a long-haired girl in a swimsuit, floating on her back on top of the dark yet shiny water. Seeming completely natural the girl let herself be swept away while leaving a small wake in the water behind her as she floated on the moonlit water.

Suddenly the girl then turned her face towards me. Our eyes met. The next moment, she made the sound of splashing water and disappeared under the water. Silence encompassed the area.

Feeling as if I saw something I shouldn't have seen, I backed away towards the door and ran back to my room at the clubhouse.

(Third Person View)

Meanwhile back in the pool C.C. called out to Lelouch…

"Okay Lelouch, you can come back out. He is gone now."

Lelouch then slowly walked out of the darkness that he was hiding in.

"Who was that C.C.?"

"Don't worry so much. It was only Rai."

"Rai huh…I guess he saw the entrance open and wanted to know who was in here."

"So this boy, Rai, did he ever find his missing memories yet?"

"Not from what I heard. Although I am interested in what his true character is I am letting Milly and the others deal with him. I am trying to raise an army that can defeat Britannia. I can't waste my time trying to help someone who doesn't know anything about himself. But, maybe I will go check on his current situation tomorrow."

After hearing that C.C. turned her head away from Lelouch and began looking up at the moon again, all the while whispering something to herself.

* * *

(First Person View)

The next day I was heading to my class when Lelouch called out to me from the hallway.

"How have you doing so far, Rai? Do you have any problems about class in general?"

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Let's see, how should I word this…how about your degree of understanding?"

"Well, I haven't had any problems so far. I understand my subjects quite well."

"I had thought that the education might…give you some clues to your memories."

"Is that so…You seem to think about various things…"

"No, I don't really pay attention to such things. I am just more interested in your true identity."

"Oh…is that so?"

"There is something else I want to ask. You wouldn't happen to have heard someone in the pool last night have you? According to Milly, there is someone who constantly goes in there at night to go swimming."

"Well now that you mention it I did see the entrance to the pool open last night and went in to check if someone was in there."

"And what did you see?"

"I wasn't there for long but I did see a girl with long hair swimming in the pool."

"I see…Did you see anyone else there?"

"No, when I saw the girl I kind of got frightened and ran off."

"So it was a girl huh? Thank you for sharing this with me. I will make sure something is done about that."

The bell than rang for our next class.

"Well, we better get going. We don't want to be late." Lelouch said as he started to step away from me.

"Yeah…"

* * *

After class I went up to the school building's rooftop to get some fresh air. While I was up there I began gazing down at the school grounds below. Suddenly Rivalz ran up from downstairs.

"Geez, where did that guy go…?"

Rivalz then noticed that I was up here on the rooftop as well.

"Oh, Rai…Can you play chess?"

"Chess…?"

"Yeah…I need someone to chess pinch hit for me at my part-time job."

"What is that exactly?"

"It's chess pinch hitting, gambling with rich nobles. Lelouch is a very good at it. He just beat his shortest time record the other day; eight minutes, thirty-two seconds flat."

"…That sounds impressive."

While I thought that sounded cool I also felt it must have been dangerous. The amount of money spent on a pinch hitting gamble with a noble must have been a lot…

"But is that really alright to do?"

"I can't imagine Lelouch losing. It is more certain than any other type of gambling."

"And what about you?"

"I just get the requests from the customers, convey it to Lelouch and leave the rest to him."

"…I see."

"Ah, wait a minute; did you just look down on me a little?"

Rivalz seemed a little offended by my short reply. However, his smile instantly returned.

"Even I can play it a little. Well, it is true that I can never compete with Lelouch. Oh look, he is finally here!"

Looking over his shoulder I saw that Lelouch had just come onto the rooftop himself.

"Sorry for being late."

"Hey hey, you are late Lelouch!"

"Sorry about that. Sayoko had gone out shopping and Nunnally was all alone so..."

"Ah, in that case it can't be helped…Anyway, we don't have any time to waste! We have to hurry over there right away!"

"Yes, you are right."

"Then let's head out. See you later Rai."

"Yeah, later…"

Rivalz and Lelouch then left the rooftop at a half-run. A few minutes after they left I decided to head back down as well.

As I was walking down the hallway I saw that Shirley came running up to me.

"Oh Rai, there is something I need to ask you."

"What is it?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where Lulu and Rivalz are right now would you?"

Lulu? Oh that is right, Lelouch's pet nickname that Shirley gave to him.

"Well I saw them a few minutes ago but then they suddenly took off for somewhere."

"I knew it! They are off gambling for money again aren't they? Lulu may be smart but he wastes his time on stupid things like that."

"You sound like you care for him a lot."

"Well…uh…of course. He is a member of student council…And him doing things like gambling just gives the rest of us student council members a bad name. But at least you wouldn't do anything like that right?"

"Yeah…um…sorry Shirley but I have to get going. I need to go meet up with Kallen downtown today. I will talk with you again some other time."

"Oh, go on ahead then. I wouldn't want to be stalling you."

After saying goodbye to Shirley I walked on down the hall and left the building. As soon as I did though a soccer ball came falling straight into my face, causing me to fall down. Ow…what now? A student then came over and picked up the soccer ball.

"Sorry about that. It was an accident ya know, an _accident_."

He then ran on back to his group of friends. You know, if I didn't know any better I would say he intentionally kicked that soccer ball at me. Oh well, I don't have time to deal with them right now, there are more important business for me to deal with.

* * *

I headed on downtown where Kallen was waiting for me. Once we got together we started walking around. After a while Kallen began speaking.

"Today's weather is good, isn't it?"

"Yeah…come to think of it, it has always been sunny every time I took a walk with you. Could it be that you are the so called clear-weather woman?"

"Really…Maybe you are just the clear-weather guy?"

"Or maybe we are just two rain people who cancel each other out."

"Oh my…In that case, we should try to go out together as much as possible for everyone else's sake."

Compared to all our rendezvous up until now Kallen and I were showing each other far more expression, and I had also grown accustomed to the settlement. The former capital of Japan, Tokyo, was divided between the settlement where the ruling Britannians lived and the ghettos where the ruled Elevens lived.

"There is a place I would like to go."

"That is fine…Things like going where you want to go might help you remember something."

We then headed towards the park in the ghettos.

"Here?"

"I…I wanted to see it from here."

From this location at the edge of the settlement I had an unbroken view of this devastated region, clearly different from the showy and well-maintained streets of the settlement. Cruelly destroyed all the buildings had been reduced to rubble after being exposed to the disastrous elements. The roads were cut to pieces. Only a collapsed highway bridge remained. The only thing left in this barren area was the wreckage left behind in the history of civilization, but people were still scrounging somewhere around here even so.

"The ghettos huh…"

"What is with this scene…Why is it so different from everything else…?"

"That is because Britannia…"

"Because Britannia defeated Japan and took away its name, making it the Britannian territory of Area 11. I understand that…"

Light and shadow…What is with this, leaving the ghetto in such a neglected state which is still carrying on scars from the war even now; while the settlement has, by contrast, shown such immense development?

"This is what it means to be ruled over. Britannia took control of Japan by force, renamed it Area 11. It didn't permit any autonomy and didn't even give it a chance to recover from its war damage. And then, the only place to live they built up afterwards was a castle for the rulers, for themselves. That is this settlement! They have abundant energy from their solar panels! They have clean water and sewage, and goods they brought overseas from all over the world! Because everything is for the Britannians…Everything is used only for the Britannians who rule over Japan!"

I couldn't imagine such violent anger coming from the usually subdued Kallen. Why was she, a Britannia herself, getting so angry I wonder?

"…It is because of the Sakuradite. You know…Mt Fuji, right? Perhaps that mountain is now a symbol of the current times. It had the largest streak of Sakuradite in the world. So Japan was invaded…So Japan was occupied…So Japan was ruled over. It is just fine for everyone else. Elevens die but we live right? They just keep the Japanese alive so that they can provide for them…To the degree that they can be ruled over and governed easily! Did you know Rai…If an Eleven applies at the government office they can become an Honorary Britannian."

Honorary Britannian…I think Suzaku said he was an Honorary Britannian.

"Honorary Britannian…It is a ridiculous thing to say, isn't it? Here, it is the Britannians who decide who is good or bad. Who decide who has…the right to live? Just what makes us so different anyways? Just what is different! Between the people who live here and the people that live in the settlement! Between Elevens…no, between Japanese and Britannians! Why does one get to rule and the other to be ruled over?"

I found Kallen's anger much unexpected of her. However, I could understand her rage. She too seemed to be someone who knew of the Japan in those days.

"Kallen…"

"Ah…I-I'm sorry. I have said something unpleasant didn't I?"

"I think you are kind Kallen."

"H-Huh…?"

I turned around and began talking to Kallen as I walked a short distance away.

"That different viewpoint, it makes you sympathize with the feelings of those who are weak and helpless and makes you angry for them."

I then turned my head towards her.

"I think…that is an indication of true kindness."

"Ah…Well, thank you for saying that. I-I'm sorry to ask this but about this matter in regards to everyone in the student council and at school…"

"I understand. Don't worry about that. It will be a secret from everyone."

"Thank you…"

"So, have you calmed down?"

"Yes…"

"How about we go back and get something to eat?"

"Sure."

We then headed on towards the settlement park and got some ice cream at a food stand.

The two of us were then walking around the park happily eating our ice cream until Kallen stopped and began staring at something with a saddened face.

"Huh…Kallen, what are you looking at?"

I turned to where she was looking at and saw three guys beating up a stand worker.

"Kallen…is that guy a…"

"Yes, he is an Honorary Britannian, or rather, a Japanese who swore his loyalty to Britannia. This is what I was talking about earlier. It didn't matter that he decided to accept Britannia's rule, he still gets treated like dirt around them. If only I was able to help him out somehow."

I could understand Kallen's need to help that Eleven and I also wished that I could do something. But I knew that if we did something to save that guy now he wouldn't be able to sell anything for the rest of the week.

The three guys who were beating the man up noticed us watching them and began walking over to where we were standing.

"Hey, you guys have a problem over there?" One of them spoke out.

"Not feeling sorry for this Eleven now are you?" Another member said.

"Nah, I bet they feel the same way we do, don't you?" The third guy proclaimed.

"Hmph…Not quite." I bluntly said.

"What was that…You Ashford punk!"

The gang member then formed a fist and aimed it at me. Oh great, now I made them mad. What am I going to do?

The fist was about to ram into my face, but then, without even me noticing I dropped my ice cream cone and caught his fist with just my right hand. The next moment I picked him up with my other hand and tossed him over my shoulders. He landed flat face down on the ground. The other two guys were surprised for a second and then one of them charged towards me and started to swing his fists at me.

I dodged what seemed to be a thousand punches he threw at me and then gave him my own punch to his face. Then I spun around and gave him a roundhouse kick to his back which caused him to fall on top on the other guy lying on the ground.

After that I turned back to the last guy still standing who looked like his was ticked off at what just happened. I then decided to call out to him.

"Sorry, but I had no choice but to defend myself there. I suggest that you and your friends leave here at once to prevent any more trouble."

"Tch…fine, you win this time but I won't forget your face you silver haired freak!"

He then started to walk away from us. The other two who were lying on the ground got up and chased after him. Once they all got together they turned their heads around and gave me a cold stare. Then they turned back and kept walking away. Once they disappeared from my sight Kallen walked to where I was standing.

"Rai, are you alright? You are not hurt are you?"

"I'm alright…They didn't even put a scratch on me. But, ever since I got here I feel like I am just causing problems and making enemies out of people, mostly Britannians, who are not part of Student Council."

"Still, you kind of surprised me there. How were you able to fight like that?"

"I don't know. I kind of just…did it…that is all."

"You mean you remembered how to fight like that."

"I guess…"

(Third Person View)

As Rai said that Kallen began to think to herself about his current status.

 _"Okay so he understands the current situation between Britannia and Area 11. He doesn't seem to have a deep hatred against Japanese or Britannians. In fact, he seems to understand the pain the Japanese are experiencing. I also heard from school that he gets along pretty well with Suzaku Kururugi, a Japanese person. And I am technically half Japanese, but Rai doesn't know that. And the way he fights, even though it was self defense, it was similar to how a Japanese martial artist fights. Even though he hasn't learned any direct memories about himself it seems he is learning more about himself through conflict and stress. If that is the case then…"_

"Hey…Kallen…Kallen…"

"Huh…wha…What is it?"

"Are you okay? You were spacing out there and you kept staring at me with a stern look on your face."

This caused her face to turn red for a few seconds.

"Wha…I was just thinking…wouldn't you be able to remember more about yourself in a more serious atmosphere?"

"Huh…you think so?"

"Well before you said you wanted to see the ghettos yourself. Isn't that connected to your memories?"

"A small possibility, more like a slim chance though."

"Then tomorrow, instead of just looking would you like to actually walk through it…Through Shinjuku ghetto?"

"Huh…I-I guess I'm okay with that. But will you be able to handle it though? I mean, in your condition…"

"Don't worry about me. I will be fine."

"Well in that case I guess I will go then."

"Good, then it is decided. After school is finished tomorrow we will meet at the abandoned park in the ghettos and go from there."

(First Person View)

After it was decided that we would go to Shinjuku Ghetto tomorrow Kallen went on home. I also decided to head on back to my place as well. I thought it was kind of strange that Kallen would want to go to a rundown place such as the ghettos. But I guess that she only wanted to go there just to see if something triggers the return of my memories. Still, I had this weird feeling inside of me. I just hope that Milly and others won't find out that I took a girl like Kallen out to the ghettos just to find clues to my memories.

* * *

The next day after classes and my duties for student council was finished I headed on out to the meeting point. Once I met up with Kallen we set foot into the ghetto. As I thought, just looking down from the settlement wasn't enough to get a true look at reality here. We both walked slowly. Kallen seem to be walking with heavy footsteps.

"So?" Kallen suddenly called out.

"Huh…"

"What do you think?"

As I tried to think of some words to say I swallowed deeply. It was terrible, that much was certain. These ruins we had come to had, of course, stopped from being rebuilt after the destruction. With no other place to go and having been refused to enter the settlement the people here squirm about just to get by in their daily lives. Eleven…Having had the name of Japan taken from them the land and the people were now poor and miserable. Kallen glanced at me several times as we walked to confirm my reaction.

"Well…everything looks terrible…"

I finally squeezed out those words to answer Kallen. What else could I say?

"Yes, it is. This is the way of Britannia. This is what they do."

Kallen seemed to shake with exceptional feelings when it came to the current state of the Elevens. Many Britannians looked down on the Elevens. That was the ruler's perspective. Sometimes, there were some who said they were sympathetic and gave out charity. Kallen was different from both of those.

"The victors steal from the defeated. They steal from them, trample on them, and continue to torment them like it s a matter of course. It is just too cruel…"

"…You are right. You are absolutely right."

We came to a halt. I gazed at the once prosperous buildings now deprived of life, and at all the feeble mannered people who came in and out of them. I looked around at my surroundings. Then out of nowhere something began flashing in my mind. I began seeing an image of buildings burning and falling into ruins. Once I could see clearly I looked around again at the scene of ruins which stretched out around me.

"W-What…this place…"

I suddenly started to crouch down.

"What is it?" Kallen said as she came to my side.

"For some reason, I feel like I have seen something like this before…"

"You recognize something?"

"I don't know. I am not certain but…could this be called feeling nostalgic…?"

"Nostalgic…Really?"

"Yeah, that is what I feel, for some reason or another."

"It might be that you had been here or some other ghetto in the past."

"If that is true, then am I an Eleven…a Japanese?"

"I think there is a possibility of that."

Something about that didn't feel quite right. The place I just envisioned didn't look like a ghetto to me. As for me being Japanese…

Before I could continue thinking I noticed Kallen forming a smile on her face and called out to her.

"What is it?" I asked with a serious tone of voice.

"Eh…What do you mean?" Kallen replied back.

"Just now, you seemed happy, somehow."

"R-Really…H-How so?"

"…Does the idea of me being Japanese make you…happy?"

This caused Kallen's face to glow red.

"I…I don't particularly care about that…It was just because you had remembered something. I after all have been keeping you company like this for your sake, haven't I?"

"Is that so…"

"Yes, exactly."

"That's…Thank you…"

"You are welcome."

We began walking around once more but before we got far the ground suddenly shook. On the other side of the ruins, dark red smoke was rising from several of the streets. It appears it was caused by an explosion.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	5. Stage 5

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 5: The Discovery of an Ace Pilot

There was an explosion not far from where we were standing. On the other side of the ruins dark red smoke was rising from several parts of the streets.

"What was that?" Kallen exclaimed out loud.

"I-I don't know…" I responded back.

Not too long after the explosion we heard a voice reverberate through a loudspeaker.

 _"We are the Order of the Black Knights! This is the flames of resistance opposing Britannia's rule! We will raise our fists against them! We will keep dying our fists with Britannia's blood, until the day when the deep red flag of the rising sun flies again!"_

I then saw the forms of several knightmare units as the smoke began to dissipate. While they looked like Glasgow models these were actually Burai models, a Glasgow remodeled by the Japanese and used by Anti-Britannian Terrorists. The loudspeaker seemed to be attached to one of those units.

In the vicinity of the Burai units there were also people carrying guns in their hand. Both they and the ordinary citizens were indistinguishable from each other in appearance.

"What in the world are they talking about…?" Kallen said out loud.

"Stand up all of you who call yourselves Japanese…Do not be afraid of sacrifice! Attack your oppressors together with us, the Black Knights! Kill the Britannians!"

The group calling themselves the Black Knights seemed to be attacking a Britannian patrol unit, but they were clearly involving the nearby citizens as well. Rubble from the ruins had collapsed and fallen onto the streets because of the explosion, crushing anybody who happened to be beneath it. I saw the Burais being unmindful of the nearby citizens as they were sent flying from the machine's movements.

"Those guys aren't the Black Knights! The Black Knights are allies of the weak! They wouldn't indiscriminately involve either Britannians or Japanese! They would never do that!" Kallen began screaming out.

"Really?"

"Yeah, most likely these people are a small organization trying to take advantage of the fame from the Black Knights' activities. These guys probably haven't accomplished any real results themselves. They are nothing more than just mindless terrorists!"

"You seem to know an awful lot about this kind of stuff…"

"I-I guess…When you watch various news stations and listen to the gossip that goes on in school, you come to know the fine details of these kinds of things.

It didn't seem like we had time to talk freely though. The Burais were being attacked by Britannian knightmares which had just appeared in the area. It seemed like the police and the army were operating here as partners against the enemy. I saw Sutherlands as well as the Knightpolice frames, Glasgows remodeled for the Britannian Police Force. In fact, the military frames seemed to make up the majority of them. Sensing the danger that was about to come I knew we have to move somewhere safe.

"It going to be dangerous here, we have to get out of here."

"Yeah, you are right…Let's go take refuge somewhere."

Without caring about their surroundings the Britannian army began firing at the terrorists. Likewise, the terrorists fired back. But it wasn't before long that the terrorists were encircled by the Britannian army as they carelessly threw out their fighting power. There were citizens who were running about trying to escape that also got caught in the encirclement. A Britannian soldier suddenly called out to his comrades.

"There is a high chance that the terrorists will try to mix in and disappear among the citizens. Do not let a single Eleven escape from within the encirclement. I repeat, do not let a single one escape. Kill them all!"

"Roger, we won't let any one of these animals get free." Another soldier replied.

The Britannian soldiers began shooting the Japanese civilians with antipersonnel turrets attached to their Sutherland's torso.

Broken pieces of concrete and asphalt…Their blood being sprayed everywhere. I could only stand there with horror on my face as I watched the Japanese scream in agony as they were killed. The terrorists, and the Britannian soldiers…Why…Why are they killing innocent civilians? Why did this have to happen?

"This is just too cruel!" Kallen said in a saddened tone.

"We have to get away now! We will get dragged in if we stay any longer!" I said in a desperate tone of voice.

But it was already too late. At that moment one of the Burai that had tried to escape from within the encirclement in desperation came crashing towards us. A stray bullet blew up a nearby abandoned building. At the same time the Burai fell backwards as its head was shot off. Its huge back drew near us.

Not wanting to see Kallen get hurt I immediately grabbed and shielded her as I turned my back towards the Burai. When I looked back I immediately saw the turned over body of the Burai before me. Having falling after the impact the cockpit's hatch was open. The middle aged man who was piloting it panicked as he quickly got out of the cockpit and then ran away as fast as he could while leaving the Burai as it was.

"Hey, are you alright!? You didn't get hurt anywhere, did you!?" Kallen said as she looked at me with a worried look.

"Hn…Yeah, I'm fine."

Fortunately for me only the back of my clothes had gotten torn up. Every other part of my body just had dirt spots.

"Really, that was so reckless of you…" Kallen sat as she spat her words at my face.

"Well, at least you are unharmed." I replied as I ignored her comment and then turned to look at the knightmare.

The Burai before us, with the exception of its damaged head seemed to still be capable of moving. Kallen ran over to it and peeked into the cockpit.

"He left the key in. _(I could probably operate this knightmare and get us out of here easily. The only problem though is how I would explain this to Rai. If only I didn't have to pretend to act so sickly around him I…)"_

"Can you move it?" I asked as I walked over to her and disrupt her thoughts.

"Oh, ah, umm, I don't think it is possible for me to do something like operate the cockpit of a knightmare."

"Hmm…"

I began to look around the inside of the cockpit. When I looked inside I immediately understood the whole structure of the cockpit. The left and right joysticks, the foot pedals, and the output gauge for the weapon options. I could understand the meaning of all the parts and instruments.

"Well then…Here we go."

Without even me knowing I was suddenly sitting in the cockpit seat and getting ready to start the machine back up.

"Here we go you say…Ah…!"

I seized Kallen by the hand and made her board the cockpit. Since the inside seat was narrow I naturally adjusted my posture so that she could lean on my body.

"Seems like the hatch can't close…I will have to go by visually controlling it as it is…Hang on tight…I will get us out of here."

"Uh, sure… _(Rai knows how to operate a Knightmare…Just how does he…?)_ "

I turned my neck as my body was wrapped around by the strength of Kallen's arms. To start things off I fired a Slash Harken into a nearby wall, then extracted it and quickly rearranged it.

The Sutherland that had been running after this Burai before immediately began approaching us as he saw this. Excited at seeing a frame which should have been knocked down get back up the Sutherland got ready and charged forward with its lance. It was a simple and stupid move which relied only on its momentum. If I had to guess this guy was a novice and was using a knightmare frame for the first time. Even though I was using a damaged Burai and had no weapons I was able to easily dodge that lance and then use my fists to knock the lance out of his hands.

The Sutherland was agitated from that attack and then pulled out its assault rifle. While my frame reeled back from my last move I simultaneously smashed my right hand into his head before he could fire the rifle. The impact caused the Sutherland to look up towards the heavens as it slowly collapsed and fell back. Knowing that he was defeated the pilot ejected from the cockpit, leaving the frame behind.

"Alright…I did it."

" _He did it. He managed to defeat a Sutherland with a damaged Burai. Rai, who on Earth are you…?"_ Kallen thought to herself.

"This entire area is going to collapse soon. We should escape before reinforcements come."

"Y-Yeah, you are right…"

It was a dangerous plan, but we have no choice. The Britannian army was tightening its encirclement and they had a high density of fighting power. Looking back down at the Sutherland I defeated, I decided to have my Burai pick up the lance and rifle my adversary was using and use them for myself. Once I had my weapons equipped I had my Burai take off.

It wasn't long before I noticed two more knightmares ahead. There were two Sutherlands. They didn't seem to notice us yet so I moved my knightmare behind some fallen debris and took a moment to think of a plan.

"Rai, what is it? Are there more Britannian soldiers coming?"

"Yeah, there are two Sutherlands heading our way. I am going to have to take them out before we can proceed."

"I see…"

I then took a moment to analysis and think of my next course of action. Let's see…my opponents now are two Sutherlands equipped with only assault rifles. My current weapons are a lance, an assault rifle, and two slash harkens. The best thing to do is wait for them to come by, ambush them and take them out as swiftly as possible.

Okay, time to move into action. The Sutherlands were then passing by our location when I suddenly got out of my hiding location and with the lance in my right hand, stabbed the Sutherland that was closest to my position. I was able to get a direct hit on his frame, which force the pilot to eject from his knightmare as his machine blew up.

The other Sutherland, now realizing my presence got his rifle prepared and was ready to fire it. Before he could though, I fired my Slash Harkens and knocked the gun out of his hand and proceeded to fire my own rifle at him. After taking several hits the pilot decided to get out of there and ejected as well. Kallen was simply stunned at what I accomplished so far.

" _He took out two more Sutherlands. How is he able to operate an outdated knightmare so well?"_

As I continued on my way I noticed a group of Sutherlands gathering one by one, surrounding a group of terrorist and trapping them in an encirclement. They then started shooting at them. No, they were just slaughtering them arbitrarily. As I watched them getting killed off I only thought of how they were getting what they deserved. After all, they tried to pick a fight with the Britannian military and got several innocent people killed. All the Burais were destroyed one by one. And then…Some of the enemy advanced over here.

There were three Sutherlands now and had me trapped inside a triangle formation. They got their rifles out and were ready to gun us down.

"Rai, what are we going to do?" Kallen asked me.

Sweat started to come down my face. Oh no, how am I going to get out of this one. Even if I try to fight back I might only be able to defeat one of them before the other two kill me. Should I surrender and say I'm an Ashford student, I am wearing my damaged uniform still. No, that won't work. Knowing the Britannian military they would shoot me anyway without asking questions just for being in the battlefield. Is that it, am I really going to die here, before I remember anything about my true self? And Kallen; is she going to die as well? If only I said we shouldn't have come here…then…

"Rai…look."

"Huh…?"

I looked up and saw that the three Sutherlands suddenly exploded. Behind the flames of the explosion there were several Burais…terrorist reinforcements?

However the new troops ran through not only the surrounding Britannian army, but also the Burais the terrorists are using within the destroyed ruins. I noticed that not only did these new Burais have a slightly different color scheme but there seemed to be some kind of purpose in their attacking direction and expansion. Huh, they are trying to let the citizens escape? They were attacking and eliminating both the army and the terrorists while at the same time they also seemed to be leading the citizens who couldn't escape the encirclement towards an escape route.

"It's the Black Knights!" Kallen screamed in joy.

"What…?"

"These guys are the real Black Knights. There is no mistaken it!"

Before Kallen got to finish her words however the Black Knight's Burais surrounded our own Burai on all four sides. That was understandable. This Burai had been abandoned by a terrorist before I had boarded myself. Their rifles were aimed at us and could fire any second now. Kallen twisted her body, stuck herself out of the open hatch and stood on the knightmare's shoulders.

"H-Hey…Kallen, come back."

As I was trying to get her back in I noticed the surrounding Burais show some movement. They weren't going to attack? Simultaneously lowering all their muzzles they moved in order to make way for us. Kallen then came back to the cockpit.

"I said we weren't terrorists, and I think they understood."

Putting aside Kallen's words they seem to be letting us out of here. In that case there was no need to hesitate from escaping from this dangerous place. I immediately left the area at full speed.

A few hours later we arrived safely at the borderline between the ghettos and the settlement.

"That was more than enough for today. I think I will go home now…" Kallen weakly said as she was out of breath from running.

"…Yeah." I answered back.

After abandoning the Burai near the settlement and passing the crowds of the curiously eyed people looking at us, Kallen and I headed home.

When I got back to Ashford Academy the sun was starting to go down. As I was wandering around I heard the sounds of a girl's voice and a cat's meow. I turned my head to where the voice was coming from and saw a green haired girl wearing a school uniform sitting on a bench with a cat.

"Come on, take my hand."

The cat meowed and put its paw on the girl's hand. The cat's name was Arthur and he belongs to this school. I think I saw the girl with green hair somewhere before but I couldn't exactly remember where.

"Well done…Next, try to grab here. Can you reach this height?"

The girl lifted her hand higher and while the cat tried to grab her hand, it couldn't reach it.

"What, how loose. I make it just a little harder for you and you are already unable to reach it anymore?"

The cat then tried again and was able to reach this time.

"That's right…It is possible when you try right?"

That was a very pompous way of talking to a cat. Yet, contrary to that the girl's expression looked quite gentle and kind. The girl then started to laugh.

"Unlike a certain someone I know you have great motivation. It is also easy to understand what you are saying. It is really different for those who don't have the ability to eat pizza. Really, it's…Hmm?"

Finally noticing me after having spoken to the cat for a long time the girl slowly looked up. She showed no surprise on her face as I approached, simply staring at me silently. Conversely, I flinched as the light of her eyes stared in my direction.

"Who are you? I don't remember seeing you at this school before." I called out to her.

"For your first meeting with someone, that is a very surprising way for you to talk."

The girl's tone towards me was quite different than it had been towards the cat.

"I apologize for that. My name is Rai, I am a student here."

"I already know about you. You are the boy with amnesia, right?"

"…How do you know that?"

Because of her unexpected words I gave the girl a searching look. Staring right back at me the girl gave what seemed to be a sarcastic smile.

"Who knows, perhaps I heard it from someone, or maybe I just happen to know everything about you from the beginning?"

"Huh…Wait, do you know me…Do you know about my past?"

"I have to say this is our first time meeting like this. Don't be so cautious. You have an anxious look on your face right now."

After shooting down my previous glimmer of hope and adding in that bit of teasing the girl gave a soft smile. Her expression was the same as the one she gave to the cat before.

"Well, I suppose I might as well tell you. My name is C.C."

Huh, what kind of name was that? Is that her initials are something?

"We might meet each other again one of these days…Take care of my cat friend for me."

Right after she said that C.C. lifted and handed me the cat and then turned her back on me as she headed for the gates of the academy.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"…To get me some pizza."

She then left the school grounds and disappeared.

"Pizza…Who on Earth is that girl?"

As I murmured that to myself the cat I held in my arms shook its head as if to say it didn't know as it meowed. I then decided to head for the clubhouse.

When I entered I put the cat down which then immediately ran off. After that I suddenly heard someone scream.

"Rai, what happened to you!?"

I turned to where the noise was coming from and saw Milly running down from the hallway while repeating the same question.

"What happened to you? Why do you look so beat up and why is there a big tear on the back of your uniform? Did Kallen get mad at you or something?"

"N-No, it's not like that. I just…got in an accident today…that is all."

"An accident…What kind of accident?"

"I…rather not say."

I didn't want to tell her about what happened today.

"Even if you don't tell me right now, I will find out about it sooner or later you know. Well, I guess I will have to get you a new school uniform now. Just wait here, I will be back shortly."

Milly then left the clubhouse to get a uniform to replace my torn up one. After several minutes of waiting she finally returned with a new spotless uniform.

"Here you go…your new uniform."

"…Thanks."

"You have only been here for about a week and you already had to get a new uniform. Try to be more careful when you go out to the settlement. It can get dangerous out there sometimes. I definitely don't want to see you get hurt."

"Okay, I will try to be more cautious of my surroundings from now on."

"Heehee…And you will have to be especially more vigilant when you are walking around with Kallen. She may be in charge of helping you but you will have to keep her out of harm's way as well. You two are very close to each other now aren't you?"

"We are not that close to each other."

"Huh…I thought you two would be making sweet love together by now. Well, I guess the two of you will have to spend a little more time with each other before it happens then."

Before what happens? I didn't really want hear anymore about this subject. I had to think of something to say to get away from her.

"Sorry Milly, but I feel really worn out today. I need to take a rest in my room."

"Oh, well go on ahead then. But you better watch out because tomorrow I will have plenty of work for you to do for student council."

Milly then left the clubhouse. I went on back to my room and decided to put everything that happened today behind me, took a shower, and then went off to bed.

The next morning I was heading for the school building when I ran into Kallen.

"Good morning Rai."

"…Good morning Kallen."

There was then a moment of silence between us until Kallen started to speak again.

"Can we talk little later on the rooftop?"

"…Uh, sure."

After my first class I went up to the rooftop to talk to Kallen. When I got up there she was already present.

"There was something I want to ask you."

I could pretty much guess what she wanted to ask.

"That knightmare from before, how did you manage to ride it easily as if it was a car or bike? That looked like something only someone from the military could do."

"I wonder about that."

That was a good question. A person who knows nothing suddenly knew how to operate a machine like that. Why, even I would like to know the answer to that.

"I don't know why, but somehow I just knew how to operate it."

"You remembered how, just like when you fought those guys in the park the other day."

"I guess…As soon as I boarded it at that moment I naturally operated it. I just knew it like I know other everyday knowledge."

"I see…"

"What do you think…Have you noticed anything about my true character?"

"Well, the possibility that you were a soldier is certainly high."

"A soldier, huh…?"

"Well, you have good fighting skills as you demonstrated the other day. Also, you managed to operate that Burai quite well. The Burai is a Japanese made knightmare. It could be that you were in some kind of resistance cell."

"So you are saying I'm a Japanese who was part of an anti-Britannian terrorist organization. If that is true then I am far too dangerous to remain in this school."

"It is only a possibility, you know. It is nothing more than a hypothesis."

"I would still like to know the truth though…"

"I know…Still, the number of clues has increased. Shouldn't you be happy about that?"

"…I suppose you are right. But, even so…You seemed to know an awful lot about knightmares."

"I am aware that it is a strange hobby for a girl to have. So…please don't tell anyone about this."

"Sure, I won't tell anyone…"

And with that we both headed to our next class. When it was time for lunch we both went to the cafeteria together.

"It is certainly more crowded than usual." Kallen commented.

"Yeah…you are right."

There was a commotion in the cafeteria during lunch break. That in of itself was a normal sight. However, it seemed a little different than usual today. Stares and words were being aimed my way. And not at just me, but also Kallen who was with me.

"Hello there; oh respectful couple!" I heard Rivalz's voice call out.

"Hi." Lelouch said.

Lelouch and Rivalz appeared before us.

"What a minute, respectful couple…? Stop saying such things, before…" Kallen sputtered out.

"What are you saying, oh respectful couple? Word has already reached my ears of how well things are going between you two!" Rivalz said in a teasing manner.

"And what exactly have you heard?" I called out.

"You know the terrorist incident that happened in Shinjuku ghetto yesterday. The Black Knights also appeared there, apparently."

"Oh…I see."

"The boy Rai, who have lost his memories, and also the lovely young lady Kallen, who even went as far as to go together with him to such a dangerous ghetto! And then the terrorist organization that appeared there! The couple got involved in the battle as the Britannian army came to suppress the rebels and their situation grew desperate! The man shielded the woman by covering her with his own body! I will protect Kallen! The couple then ran through the flames to escape!"

Lelouch, Kallen, and I all gave a heavy sigh at Rivalz's made up story.

"…So, was that how the story went?"

I see…That seems to be the reason why all eyes and commotion are directed at us. It is no wonder we caught someone's attention, considering our state when we got back. That information would have been transmitted and spread all throughout the school in no time.

"Isn't that just an exaggeration…? That gossip has so many embellishments attached to it." Kallen said.

"But, isn't it a fact that he saved you? That a weak, frail girl like you Kallen could safely escape from there is proof of that."

"T-That is true, but…"

Lelouch then began to step in.

"You helped save an important classmate of ours. That is an act that most certainly deserves gratitude. Rai, thank you."

"Lelouch…" Kallen said.

"It is being talked about all over the school. The young lady Kallen and her wonderful knight!"

"Enough already…of being so pleased with that story…"

"There are quite a lot of other boys aiming at Kallen too. But, with the appearance of her loving knight on the stage, they have all become dejected and downhearted one after another."

"Enough…stop it already…"

"So, were you really there? How were you able to pass through a battle like that?"

We were faced with the brunt of Rivalz's attack. Indeed, there was no way we could tell the truth. What could we say?

"Come on, tell me. Did you use great seasoned cleverness, or did you find some kind of unexpected power hidden inside when faced with the scene of fire? Also, has the newspaper club already jumped at you for material on this?!"

"That is enough already. It is true that he saved back then. Isn't that enough?"

It was only a little, but I could feel the anger in Kallen's voice. It seems like she had been offended somehow. Or was she just pretending? I couldn't tell.

"Yikes, are you in a bad mood?"

"If I said I don't like noisy people who poke their noses into things wouldn't you be embarrassed from people around you saying that kind of thing?"

"Eh, well…Yeah…But even so, I would still like to know. Right, Lelouch?"

"Kallen is right. When it comes to stand-alone rumors like this you shouldn't trouble the person it is about."

"Huh, could it be I'm the guy who is unable to pick up on the mood…? I feel so down now."

"Also, you are wasting our lunchtime talking about this. We have to get something to eat as well."

Saying this, he tapped Rivalz's shoulder as he left us to go eat. And also, the eyes of all those who had listened to our conversation seemed to have drifted away from us somewhat. We were finally able to have some peace as we ate our lunch. Kallen began to speak to me as we ate our lunch together.

"Hey, if only this much annoys you, even if someone you recognize appears you won't look so good to them, right?"

"Do you really think that?"

"But, there might be such a person in the settlement…If it turns out that you are not from the settlement…you really might be Japanese…"

"…I have been constantly wondering about that."

Even though she was Britannian, Kallen seemed to be fixated on the Japanese. Does she really think it would be better for me to be Japanese? It seemed as if Kallen was trying to hide a part of herself from everyone.

After school was finished for the day I began to wonder what I was going to do. Kallen said she wasn't going to be available after school today because she had to go attend to her personal business once again.

I was about to head out of the classroom until Shirley stopped me from leaving in a loud voice.

"Ah, wait a minute! Please wait before you go!"

"Do you need me for something?"

"Yes, I have some work from student council for you to do."

"What kind of work is it?"

I was expecting it to be paperwork since that is what Milly usually has me doing.

"I need to buy some equipment for the swimming club, but since the gear is large and heavy I need you, Suzaku, and Rivalz to come with me to the shopping mall and carry the stuff back to school for me.

"Well, I don't have anything better to do right so yeah, I will help."

"Really, thank goodness. I was afraid you would say no. Alright, let's get going then. Rivalz and Suzaku should already be waiting for us in front of the school gate."

"Hey, wait a minute…shouldn't Lelouch be helping us too?"

"Well, I wanted to ask Lulu to come but he just got up and left before I had a chance to talk with him today. But I guess it doesn't really matter since Lulu isn't very useful when it comes to lifting things and doing actual physical labor."

"Oh I see…"

Shirley and I then proceeded to head out to join Suzaku and Rivalz in front of the school gates. Once we all got together we then headed for the downtown mall.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	6. Back Stage 1

_Author's Note: Hello everyone, NSBleach00 here. I got five more chapters redone plus a little extra something that I like to call a Back Stage chapter._

 _Now what is this you may ask? Well, as the name might suggest it is a chapter (It's not going to be that long; I say it is around 2000-3000 words long) that cover events that are outside of Rai's point of view, and in most cases, things he is not even aware of. You can think of it as something similar to the picture and audio dramas that the original Code Geass show had._

 _The reason why I have decided to do these Back Stage chapters is because I feel that a common point of criticism towards the original story was that the focus was too much on Rai. However, with these 'mini chapters' hopefully I can alleviate that somewhat. Also, depending on how well received this chapter is I may do at least five more of these 'Back Stage' chapters._

 _Anyways, this first chapter will be about the principal of Ashford Academy, Ruben K. Ashford. Now for those who might not know this Ruben K. Ashford is Milly Ashford's grandfather and the one in charge of Ashford Academy. He never made an appearance in the main show (or anything else Code Geass related as far as I am aware) nor was his real name given outside of being 'Milly's Grandfather'. However, Ruben's name does appear on the wikia for Code Geass so that is where I got his name. So no, he is not I character I made up._

 _I wasn't actually planning on going in depth on Ruben's character before. After spending some time thinking about it though I decided that maybe I will attempt to flesh out this character that never appeared before and hopefully give him some good characterization. After all, this is a character that was involved in the creation of the knightmare frames and has history with Marianne. Also, I think people might find it interesting to learn why this person who used to be a Britannian Noble would allow people like Lelouch, Nunnally, and Rai to hide out at Ashford Academy. Depending on how everything goes I may give him another Back Stage chapter in the future._

 _Also, in this chapter when a sentence is italicized it means the character is speaking to the readers directly about his or her thoughts._

 _Okay, I babbled on long enough. I hope everyone enjoys reading this Back Stage chapter as well as the improvements I made to chapters 6-10._

Code Geass: Colorless Memories Redux

Back Stage 1.3: The Principal's Decision

" _Ah, what a gorgeous sunset…"_

Ruben K. Ashford, principal of Ashford Academy thought to himself as he stared out the open blinds of his window.

Out of all the places in the settlement to watch the sunset Ruben believed he had the best spot, which was located on the third floor of Ashford Academy's main building inside his office, all the while getting to sit on his comfortable chair by his work desk.

At least, that was his sincere opinion anyways. He hasn't as of yet found any other location in the settlement that gave him any better experience of enjoying the sunset in a quiet and peaceful manner.

After all, from where he was sitting one could watch the sun slowly descend down the horizon of the settlement. It almost appeared magical to Ruben as the sun steadily disappears the orange hue the sky has little by little fades away and is gradually replaced by the black sea of night with white, bit sized stars blinking in the sky.

It always helps Ruben relax when he sees this natural event transpire, particularly when he has a rough or busy day. Especially with what happened just a few moments ago. Ruben just got through another one of his 'family meetings', which consisted of Milly Ashford, his granddaughter, her parents and himself. What the four of them was discussing about was which nobleman's son they were going to get into contact with next in order to set up an appointment or 'date' with Milly.

" _Personally I don't like the idea of setting up an arranged marriage for my granddaughter."_

This is because Ruben liked Milly. She had a curious and playful personality yet was kind and considerate towards others. He liked that about her. Which is why he hated the idea of pretty much using her just to boost up the family status.

" _Especially since there is so much more so could do with her life."_

Yet, at the same time he recognized her parent's desire to regain nobility and had been working hard for the past eight years, both with their jobs and with these arranged appointments, to re-attain it.

" _Still, it is because they were both spoiled as kids that they are doing this, which I am partly responsible for that."_

After Ruben finished recalling this event he sat himself back in his chair and closed his eyes. As he sat there in his quiet and currently serene office he thought he suddenly Milly's voice call out to him.

"… _G…n…f!…H…y…Gr…ndf…!…Hey Grandfather!"_

Hearing her voice just caused him to chuckle to himself as a smile appeared on his old wrinkled face while his were still closed.

"Haha, it is almost as if I can hear her voice right now."

Suddenly though the door to his office popped open and Milly herself frantically came running in, looking all while appearing to be excited about something.

"Ack…What in the world?"

Milly's sudden appearance in his office caused him to twirl around wildly in his chair and Ruben landed his arms on the wooden top of his desk while his face crashed onto the keyboard of his computer. As Ruben tried to reorganize himself and reposition his glasses that were currently crooked on his face Milly continued to anxiously say something to him, all the while gasping for air. It seems that she was in rush to meet him even though he just talked with her thirty minutes ago.

"Huff…Grandpa…Huff…There is something…Huff…that I need…Huff…to ask you." Milly hastily tried to say as she took a moment between words to reach out with her mouth and inhale some air.

"Y-Yes, what is it my dear? Please, take a moment to relax and breathe slowly. I can barely understand what you are trying to say. It almost looks like you just ran a marathon."

Ruben tried to calm her down while teasing her at the same time.

Following her grandfather's advice she stepped back and took a few short breaths.

"There, that's better. Now, what is it that you wish to speak to me about?" Ruben said.

"Grandfather, we have an emergency on our hands!" Milly exclaimed out loud.

"Oho, an emergency you say? Don't tell me that you and the student council went over the budget again for the next school event, or did Arthur run off with someone's prized possession again?"

Ruben knew what Milly's 'emergencies' usually meant. He still hasn't forgotten when his granddaughter brought the entire school into chaos a few days ago and had them all scurrying about looking for something that Lelouch lost; whatever it was. Still, whatever the 'emergency' was it still amused him greatly every time to find out what Milly comes up with.

"But grandfather, it's serious this time! Lelouch and I found this unconscious guy outside the gates of our school!" Milly said with her eyes widened out.

"Hmm…an unconscious lad you say?"

Ruben's expression suddenly gotten more serious as his eyebrows slanted downward facing his nose. He realized that the jokes were over.

"Yeah, he appears to be about the same age as me and has weird colored hair and…"

Milly continued going on and on about the young man she discovered.

"Also, I was kind of wondering if we could…"

"…Let him stay here for a while? But of course he can."

Ruben already finished the question Milly was about to ask as well as give a response.

"Huh really, he can?" Milly asked back with surprise.

"Yes, of course. You know that I don't turn my back on those in need. Besides, you already seem to be highly curious about him."

Hearing Ruben's answer caused Milly to stretch her arms out in victory and shout for joy.

"Yes, I knew you would approve it!"

Seeing Milly like this caused Ruben to smile himself as he placed his back up against the chair again.

"I'm going to see if he is awake yet and when he does I am going to introduce him to everyone on the student council." Milly excitingly said.

"Yes, you go ahead and do that. I shall be there shortly as well to see him as soon as I finish up one last matter."

"Okay, later then grandfather."

After giving one last remark Milly left the room and closed the door. Once she was out of his sight Ruben let out one huge sigh.

"… _Another one huh…Well this wouldn't be the first time she brought a lost stranger onto my campus. My dear Milly sure does seem quite fond of meeting new people. Still, I am fine with this. I myself have allowed strangers such as travelers and those less fortunate to take refuge in my home for a short period of time. And once they have their fill and are more confident in themselves they would thank us for our hospitality and would carry on their way. This one will be treated no differently. Heh, I can almost hear 'them' laughing at me again right now."_ Ruben said as he chuckled to himself.

And by 'them' he was referring to the high nobles of Britannia, where he was once ranked as one of them. Ruben remembers very well how the other nobles would scoff and criticize him, telling him that he was wasting his time and money looking out for those of lower status than theirs and that he should be focusing more on building his own wealth and power as well as expanding the country of Britannia itself. This is despite the fact that Ruben was just trying to be the honest gentleman he was and that he was just simply doing what he believed was right.

" _In any case it doesn't matter who this mysterious kid is or where he came from, the details can come later. In the meantime he shall be a guest of the Ashford family. Which reminds me…Speaking of the Ashford family I still need to make that phone call."_

Ruben has almost forgotten what he was about to do. He still had to go set up that 'appointment' for Milly to meet with another nobleman due to her parent's insistence. Ruben let out another weary sigh before picking up the phone on his desk.

"… _Even though I am no longer the young lad I used to be or part of nobility it still seems I am as busy as ever. But I suppose that hard work has always been a constant companion of mine and helped get me through everything."_ Ruben said to himself as he held his face straight up with his eyes closed.

* * *

Once all of his important business was done Ruben left his office and headed for the infirmary where his granddaughter and everyone else were at. He still wanted to meet and get a good look at this mysterious young man that Milly and them found as well as have a simple chat with him.

"Oh, grandfather…It's you."

Milly seemed slightly surprised to see him as she was walking down the hallway. It appears that he was already late getting there. Still, he pretended to ignore this and talked with Milly.

"So, how did everything go?" Ruben asked.

"Well, for the most part everything went okay but there is still a rather serious problem."

"And that is?"

Ruben then stood with his hands behind his back as he listened to Milly explain the current situation. When she was finished speaking Ruben started to rub his fingers across his bearded chin as he took this revelation in.

"I see, so you say his name is Rai huh? That is a rather strange name. And you say that is the only thing he seems to know about himself because he is currently experiencing amnesia, I take it? My, that is a rather unfortunate experience to go through."

"Yeah, I feel sort of sad for him, ya know?" Milly replied.

"Indeed, I feel the same way. Still, you wouldn't mind if I have a word with him, do you Milly?"

"Hmm…Of course not; Come on lets go."

Milly and Ruben then headed on down to the infirmary together.

When the two of them got there Ruben gently knocked on the door with his right hand. There was no answer though but Ruben decided to enter anyways.

When he peered inside the opened door to the infirmary he saw that it was already pitch black inside. As he stepped into the interior of the medical center he glanced over at the bed on the opposite side of the room and noticed a young male on top of it. While keeping the lights turned off Ruben quietly walked over and stood in front of young man while adjusting his glasses in order to get a better look at him.

" _Ah, so this is our young guest, Rai hmm…"_ Ruben silently said to himself so he wouldn't wake Rai up.

It seems that the young man was already unconscious and in deep sleep.

" _Despite his young appearance he seems to have the same white hairs as me…Well, maybe it would be better to say he has silver colored hair compared to my gray strands of hair. Even so, it is very rare to come across someone with silver colored hair, especially if it came naturally."_

Ruben stood there for a little while longer and continued to observe the young man. When he was finished Ruben left the hospice and slowly but gently closed the door. Once he was back in the hallway his granddaughter was the first to speak.

"So, what do you think?"

"Well, judging from what I have gauge mentally with these owl-like eyes of mine…I would say that his height is five feet and eight inches, he might weigh about one hundred and twenty-six pounds and that his stretches out to around nine inches."

"Wow, you were able to tell all of that just looking at him. You always were good at making measurement visually with just your eyes. Okay, I will make sure to remember all that!" Milly said with a pleased expression on her face.

"Ahem, putting that aside it doesn't appear that there are any physical damages on his body outside of a few scratches and dirt marks on him here and there."

"So he can stay here until he regains his memories right?"

"I believed I already answered this question but yes, he can stay here at the academy for as long as it takes for him to get over his amnesia. But remember; while everything may be disoriented to him right now try not to treat him as a pet. He is still a human being after all." Ruben added in.

"I know that already. I am not a little kid anymore…Sheeshs grandfather…" Milly responded back as if she couldn't believe her grandfather told her that.

"I really do wander about that sometimes…" Ruben whispered to himself as he turned his face away from Milly for a moment.

Ruben knew how wild and rambunctious Milly could get at times. He was afraid to admit it but he knew in his mind that the reason why Milly was the way she was because he spoiled too much. He knew that was at least part of the reason anyways.

" _I suppose that is my weakness. It is hard for someone like me to say no. Still I swear, sometimes it feels like she has more power and authority over this academy than even me…"_ Ruben had that horrible thought etched into his mind.

"Anyways, you don't need to worry about that grandfather. You can leave everything to me. I will do everything I can to help Rai out. Not only that, but I will see to it that he gets a great experience being at Ashford Academy." Milly passionately said.

"Oho, well said. In that case, I will leave him to you then. Still, I will do everything I can to help out from the background. I will get him enrolled into our academy while keeping an eye out on the web and local newspapers to see if any news of a missing person comes up. I will also get Sayoko to go and collect a blood sample from him sometime later tonight once she is finished tending to the Lamperouge siblings. Also, since Rai doesn't seem to remember what his surname is we will just have to make one up for him in the meantime. So Milly, what do you think would be a good last name for him to impersonate in the meantime?"

"Hmm…let me think for a moment…" Milly replied as she placed her right hand on her chin and her eyes rolled up to look at the ceiling.

After a few second thinking about it an imaginary light bulb lighted up in her head.

"I got it! How about Thurston?"

"Hmm…Yes, that should work. Thurston is a rather common surname in Britannia after all. Rai Thurston it is then. Good work my dear. I shall get all of that lined out by tomorrow morning. Well then, it is getting rather late now. You should hurry on to your room and get ready to retire for the night. Tomorrow is another school day after all."

"Okay, I suppose I am getting a tired right now…aaaahhhh…"

Milly then took a moment to yawn for a moment before speaking again.

"It has been an exciting evening for me after all. Anyways, good night grandfather." Milly finished saying as she turned around and got ready to walk down the other end of the hallway.

"Yes, good night my dear." Ruben replied back.

However, Milly didn't even walked five feet down the hallway before Ruben called out to her again.

"Oh yes, there is one more thing I need to confirm with you." Ruben said with a rather serious look on his face.

His previous smile turned upside down and his eyebrow slanted downward towards his nose.

"Huh, yes?" Milly responded as she turned her body back around to face him.

"In regards to our newest guest staying with us, Rai 'Thurston'…Just like with the Lelouch and Nunnally matter, please don't tell your parents about any of this. They are both rather busy business people trying to make the best out of their lives and we don't need to disturb them with something they would consider a trivial thing such as me allowing guests to stay my school grounds."

"Yes, of course grandfather. I wasn't planning on telling them…a…single…thing!" Milly replied with an impish smile on her face as she held her left index finger over her lip and had her right eyelid closed.

"Hmph…Good, I know I can entrust you with our little secret."

And with that Milly waved goodbye to grandfather again and disappeared into the hallway. Ruben was aware that while his granddaughter was somewhat of loud-mouth at times she knew when to keep secrets like this quiet, even towards her own parents.

Ruben himself turned around in the opposite direction and began heading back to his office.

" _My, my; it has been rather one heck of an evening. I surely wasn't expecting this, but then again, with all these sudden events going on around Area 11 maybe I shouldn't be too surprised. Who knows, maybe it was fate that brought that young lad here."_

Ruben then took a moment to breathe out a sigh to himself as he stood in front of the entrance to his office.

" _In any case, I should be able to get everything lined out for the young man by morning. Still, I will probably still have to get an 'approval' from that stubborn mule from the clubhouse, Lelouch. I can already see him coming into my office tomorrow and reprimanding me about how I allowed a suspicious person into his 'hideout'. I swear, that boy hasn't changed a bit ever since I took him years ago, always being cautious towards everyone. Although considering what he went through and experienced at such a young age I suppose he has every right to be wary towards others. Still, I know I will be able to come up with the perfect excuse for him by tomorrow."_

He then opened the door and entered his office, knowing that there is more work waiting for him despite how late it was.

Moving back to the Main Stage…


	7. Stage 6

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 6: Gaining One's Interests

Once Shirley and I exited the school building we went towards the school entrance to meet up with Suzaku and Rivalz.

"Hey guys, I finally got Rai to come with us. I hope we didn't keep you two waiting." Shirley cheerfully said.

"Not at all, I just got done fixing me bike actually, with a little help from Suzaku." Rivalz commented.

"Well now that we are all together we better get going before it starts to get dark outside. My swimming coach is probably already down there with her van waiting for us to load that equipment." Shirley noted.

The four of us then proceeded to head on down to the shopping mall with Shirley leading us.

* * *

Once we got to the shopping mall Shirley was easily advancing within the crowd trying to find the sports store. The rest of us had to speed up a little in order to keep up with her.

After we located the store we went inside and Shirley went up to the clerk. She said who she was and asked for her order. The clerk then pointed at nine boxes lying on the other side of the store with a note on each of the boxes that said "Reserved for the Ashford swimming club." Shirley then thanked the clerk and went back over to where we were standing.

"Okay guys, the stuff is already paid for. Now we just have to carry these boxes over to the coach's van. Those boxes are heavy so carry them one at a time. We can make two extra trips back here to take the rest. I will lead you guys over to where the van is. Let's go!"

Suzaku, Rivalz, and I then went over to the boxes and each of us picked one up. Rivalz seemed to have a little trouble lifting the box at first but eventually got a hold of it.

"Man, these boxes sure are heavy. What is in these things anyways?" Rivalz bellowed out loud.

"Well, they do seem to be a little heavy." I replied as I lifted a box.

"What are you guys talking about? These boxes are not that heavy." Suzaku said as he easily lifted the box.

"That is easy for you to say! You are a military soldier, so things like this are simple for you to do!" Rivalz remarked.

"Come on guys, step it up! We don't have all evening to goof around." Shirley yelled as she marched out of the store.

We then followed her out of the mall as she led us to a van.

"You boys can place those boxes in the back of the van." The swimming coach said as she opened the back entrance of the vehicle.

We each placed our box in the back of the vehicle and went back to the store to get the rest of the boxes. After two more trips all the boxes were inside the van. The last three boxes had to be placed in the back seats though.

"Good work boys, I will have this van parked in front of the building where the swimming pool is. Then you guys can carry the boxes inside that building. I am expecting you all to be back soon so don't dawdle." The coach said as she drove away.

"What, we have to drag those boxes around some more!?" Rivalz said surprised.

"Hey, where did Shirley go?" Suzaku said as he looked around and noticed that Shirley wasn't with us.

Rivalz and I also looked around but couldn't see her anywhere. Now that I think about it, Shirley did seem to disappear on our last trip to the sports shop.

"She might still be in the mall somewhere. We should look in there first." I suggested.

"Right, we have to find her quickly and then head on back to the academy to finish our duties." Suzaku said as the three of us went into the mall once more.

The three of us decided to split up as we search for Shirley.

As I walked around the mall I eventually saw her standing in front of a clothing store. Shirley was looking at some clothes that were being showcased. Upon closer inspection I noticed the item displayed in the shop window was a pure white wedding dress. Shirley looked at the beautiful embroidery, form and décor with shining eyes. Eventually, after having stared in to shop window with such intense concentration Shirley noticed that I was standing next to her.

"I am sorry I disappeared like that. While we were going back and forth in the mall I saw this wedding dress in the window and I wanted to look at it. And as I looked at it…it reminded me of something from my childhood. I always used to say to my father, 'When I get big, I will be papa's bride'. Even though I didn't really understand the concept of marriage, I longed to wear a white dress like this…"

As I listened to her in silence, Shirley blushed as she suddenly came to her senses, and looked to the side in embarrassment.

"Ah, sorry! You don't know what I am talking about, I just suddenly started to reminiscence, and I…"

She was so embarrassed from unconsciously speaking out to me that her cheeks were dyed red.

"No, for a girl, aren't such feelings natural? Wasn't it a precious memory for you?"

"Enough already…"

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Reminiscence, I can only wonder what that is like."

"…Thank you for understanding." Shirley said as she laughed.

"We better get going. There is still some work left to do."

"Ah, that is true. We have to hurry up and get those boxes to the coach's office!"

Shirley and I then regrouped with Suzaku and Rivalz and the four of us headed back to Ashford Academy. Once we got back Suzaku, Rivalz, and I started to carry the boxes from the van to the coach's office.

* * *

(Third Person View)

Meanwhile, as the three boys were doing their work, in the underground tunnels of Shinjuku Ghettos, Kallen Stadtfeld, who was wearing a Black Knights uniform, was in the middle of what she says is _"Personal Business"_ to Rai. In reality, she is actually a member of the Black Knights. Right now she is about to give her report to Zero, the leader of the Black Knights, about yesterday's incident in Shinjuku Ghetto.

"I heard about the case in Shinjuku ghetto. The important thing is that you were unharmed." The figure named Zero said.

"Yes well, the truth is, I have something to report." Kallen said.

"I'm listening."

"At the time, I was there with a male student from my school…"

"You mean Rai?" Zero said as if he already knew who Rai was.

Kallen was baffled by what Zero said.

"You know about him?!"

"He seems to be a very interesting person…This mysterious, amnesiac man."

"Yes, this person, Rai, he handled a knightmare quite skillfully."

Zero was surprised when he heard this.

"You really think he is talented?"

"He was able to take down three Sutherlands with just a Burai. The skills he showed using only visual control is especially noteworthy."

"Then, it wasn't you who piloted that Burai and broke through the Britannian army's encirclement that time…"

"Correct, it was him."

"That is…surprising…Very interesting."

"Yes, if we could get him to become our ally, I think he would become a strong part of our fighting force."

"Hmm…Lets collect some more information before making any judgments. Make sure you continue to keep an eye on him as well."

"Understood…"

Kallen was about to turn around and leave but suddenly turned around again and faced Zero.

"By the way, how exactly did you learn about Rai?"

"Hmm…?"

"I don't remember telling you anything about Rai before so how did you already know about him?"

"Hmph…an easy question to answer." Zero replied as he first held left hand over his mask and then stretched it outward in front of himself, almost as if he was striking a pose in front of an audience.

"I have heard about this Rai person while speaking with Ohgi a few days ago. We were in the middle of a discussion about your duties as a member of the Black Knights and your daily activities at Ashford Academy. As we continued talking Ohgi mentioned that you were helping the school's student council by guiding this amnesiac boy named Rai around the city."

"Oh, so that is how you learned about him…" Kallen murmured.

However, it didn't seem like Zero was done talking yet.

"Also, from I gathered it seems like Ohgi enjoys the idea of you hanging out with this Rai fellow."

"H-Huh…what did you just say…I never…?" Kallen fumbled as she was slowly at a loss for words at what her leader was saying.

"I am talking about how Ohgi also said that he is glad about how you are going to school again more often and is enjoying a normal life there. He also said that you are starting to get rather close to this Rai person then when you first met him. Then again, you are just a high school student so I guess this sort of thing is just…"

Zero was then interrupted by Kallen.

"W-Wait a minute…just what are you insinuating? I mean, I know I told Ohgi some things about what I do at school but I never thought I would hear YOU say such things! Geezs, first at school and now here too…"

"What, can't I also engage in the local gossip with my fellow subordinates?"

"Not if you are going to say weird things like that! In fact, this conversation is over! I need to go find Ohgi and correct him about his inner fantasies. God, it's hard to tell what the other Black Knights members would say if they also know about it."

And with that Kallen then quickly sped out of the room with a flustered appearance on her face.

"Hehe…that look on her face every time I corner her…whether it is just with a simple conversation like this or even when she tried to corner me in the clubhouse is just so…satisfying."

Zero then put his prevent jabs at Kallen aside and recognized his next objective.

"Even so…okay Rai…Maybe there is something interesting about you after all. You have caught my interests as well..." Zero said as he muttered to himself. He then headed back to his office.

* * *

(First Person View)

The next morning, as I was heading to class I was talking to Suzaku in the courtyard.

"So, how have you been doing lately?" Suzaku said as he started the conversation.

"Well, I haven't had any particular problems."

"Are things going well with Kallen? Lately, I see the two of you together a lot."

"Are things going well…Just what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, sorry about that…There was no deeper meaning. She has a rather frail body you know, so it just looks like you are the one doing the escorting instead of her."

"Hmm…Yeah, there might be some truth to that."

"Keep at it!"

"Umm…Sure…" I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that last sentence.

Suzaku and I then went on to our classes.

* * *

Once class was over I headed over to the cafeteria to get something to eat. I was eating alone until Kallen came up and sat down next to me.

"How is it? Does the food here suit your tastes?"

"The food tastes fine to me."

"I see…Oh, by the way…"

"Huh…?"

"Do you know how to use chopsticks?" Kallen said as she pulled out two chopsticks.

"Chop…sticks?"

"The style in the school and settlement is mainly Britannian, but originally this was Japan and chopsticks were used instead…"

"…I haven't really thought about it."

"We may be able to discover something about you by the difference in food culture…For example…Soba, sushi, tempura…Do any of these foods seem recognizable to you?"

"I'm…not too familiar with them."

"Then, how about sashimi or nimono…Oh, and curry or ramen…Or maybe anpan or taiyaki!?"

"Sorry…None of them remind me of anything."

"I see…In that case, should we have you try eating the real things soon? If it is okay with you, I can make some for you to try someday."

"I guess I am fine with it…but are you okay with doing something like this?"

"Don't worry about it. It will take me a few days, but I will have some Japanese food ready for you to try. This is all for your memories after all."

Once lunch was over I headed over to the clubhouse to see what was going on in the over there. When I entered the student council room I found Suzaku giving Arthur his food and Lelouch, who was looking at a magazine with a bored expression on his face.

"Hello Rai." Suzaku said when he saw me enter the room.

"What's going on here?" I asked him.

"I thought that Arthur was hungry so I was giving him his food and…Oww!"

Suzaku yelled in pain as Arthur bit his finger. It seemed like he was biting without holding back.

"Arthur, that's bad!" Suzaku yelled at the cat.

"It doesn't look like that cat sees you as its owner." Lelouch said without taking his eyes off the magazine.

"But Arthur is the cat that I brought here."

"The person who feeds the cat most often is said to be the highest ranking person…At least from the cat's viewpoint anyways."

"Even I give him food often…Although, because I am so busy lately with my work I can't feed him every day."

"Then, maybe it is because Arthur is a male."

"How in the world can that really possibly be the reason?"

"I wouldn't know. I am not a cat."

Lelouch seemed to be one-sidedly teasing Suzaku, but I could feel the close relationship between these two. Were they able to talk like this together because they are best friends I wonder? I thought that as I watched those two talked. I then heard Shirley walk into the room.

"Oh, is it just you three today?"

"Well, I have to get back to the base. See you later Shirley."

Suzaku then got up and was ready to head out the door. Once he walked past me he nudged his head towards the door as if he was signaling me to leave the room as well. At first I didn't understand why he wanted me to leave but then it suddenly clicked in me. Oh I see, so that is what it is.

"Umm…yeah…now that I think about it I remember Milly wanted me to do something for her. I will be going as well."

I proceeded to leave the room.

"See you guys later!" Shirley said as she waved to us.

After we walked out of the student council room, Suzaku closed the door.

"Sorry I had to get you to leave like that. I was trying to help Shirley there."

"No, it is fine."

"I do need to head on back to my workplace though. See you later Rai."

"Yeah…later."

When Suzaku left I began to wander around the clubhouse. I eventually decided to walk back outside when Lelouch came out as well.

"Huh…Lelouch? I thought you were with Shirley."

"Never mind about that…how are you doing? Do you think you have become familiar with the students of this school?"

"…I guess."

"After looking around here and there with Kallen have you managed to learn anything? Kallen may be the person in charge of helping you but I am also a student council member, so please tell me if something comes up. If you have found a clue then perhaps I could look into it around here. As Milly said, all of us student council members are here to help you recover your memories."

Huh, that is strange, the guy hardly talked to me ever since I got here. But…Lelouch had a peculiar, one-of-a-kind atmosphere to him. On the surface he seemed detached but his manner of speaking and his conversational skills were top notch. Yet…It always felt like he had an impenetrable wall hidden inside himself that kept others out. I knew nothing about myself. That was a big obstacle for me as I tried to accept others. I wouldn't say that we were similar but I felt that there was also such a part inside Lelouch as well.

"You haven't had any difficulties living here so you must have some memories left right?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"In that case you might have lost your memories fairly recently, that is what I believe anyways. At least after the start of Britannia's rule here…"

"It would be natural to assume that I suppose."

"How much do you remember about the settlement?"

"…I have to say that I am completely uninformed of its geography. However, when I was being guided by Kallen or Suzaku, I just knew exactly what everything we saw was."

"It seems you possess a lot of knowledge but no memories."

"That is what it seems like."

"What about Area 11?"

"It is the same thing, I just know. Although…"

"Although…?"

"I felt something like a trace of recognition when I saw the ruins of the ghettos the other day."

"I see…Then it could be that you are a person from the other side…That is, it could be that you are Japanese."

Kallen also suggested that I could be Japanese. Now Lelouch is saying the same thing. Could I really be…?

"Do have memories of Britannia as your home country?"

"…No, whether it be the settlement or the ghettos, or anything about Area 11, I don't feel any memories or knowledge about any of them."

"How about the Chinese Federation or the EU? It could mean that you are from a foreign country."

"…I don't really know much about those countries."

"Then what about older things…From when you were a child or before the war with Britannia?"

"I…just don't remember."

"And yet you don't have any problems with things concerning the present. That is very…How can I say it, there are a lot of inconsistencies between what you do and don't know."

"That is what it seems like."

Lelouch then looked down at his watch and seemed surprised at the time.

"Oops, look at the time. Well then, I better get going. I wouldn't want to be a hindrance to you."

"See you later then…I guess."

Lelouch then walked away.

I recognized what Lelouch was trying to say. I understand the relationship between Japan and Britannia, and I also had the necessary knowledge needed to live here…But what about the information besides that? I had some knowledge about world affairs. But, it wasn't anything special. Yes…It was as if only the bare minimum of knowledge had been written down, like in a manual. What I really wanted though was my memories. But all I had was some very thin knowledge. However, if that was my only clue all I can do is move forward with all the support everyone is giving me.

* * *

Later on that day, after I had that talk with Lelouch, I decided I was going to head on out to Shinjuku Ghetto again. Last time I went there I had some kind of vision of burning buildings. So maybe, if I looked around that place again I might discover something else. I was about to head out of the school gateway when Kallen called out from behind me. I turned around and saw her walk towards me.

"Are you going out somewhere? I will come along with you…it is my duty to help you find your memories after all."

"I am sorry to say this but…I think I will go out by myself today."

"Huh…why?" She said with surprise.

After trying to think of a reason I came up with an answer.

"Because…I want to try to do things on my own…Ever since I came here all you guys took it upon yourselves to try to take care of me and solve my problem for me while I just went along with it. I need to have more confidence and try to help myself out more instead of relying on you guys."

"Rai…" Kallen softly said.

"Please excuse me."

The truth of the matter was that I didn't want to take her out to the ghettos again. Another incident like that terrorist attack the other day might occur and I didn't want Kallen to be put into danger like that again. I was just going to have to go alone this time and face danger myself, so that way no one I know will get hurt. That would be the last thing I would want to happen. I walked away from her and once I thought I was out of her view I started to sprint towards the ghettos.

* * *

(Third Person View)

Little did Rai know that Kallen was following a fair distance behind him out of his view, keeping track of where he was going.

"So Rai, where are you going that you don't want me to know about?"

She followed him all the way to the ghettos.

* * *

(First Person View)

Once I was in the middle of an area in the ghettos I began to search around. Everywhere I looked though it was the same, if not worse, than the last time I came to this area. The place still looked like a big mess; broken glass all over the floor and roads, destroyed buildings crumbled and lying on top of each other, people living in poverty with their homes ruined. Nothing changed at all here. That terrorist attack the other day just made everything look worse.

As I continued to walk around the place I stumbled across what looked like a memorial gravesite. Surrounding it were pictures of various families, all of them Elevens. Also around the gravesite were mementos of the families. Apparently the date of deaths for all these people was the day those terrorists attacked. I see, so that is what this place is for. To remember the people who lost their lives on that day. I then took a moment to pray for these people and put my hands together.

"I don't know any of you people and you probably don't know me, but I hope you all will find peace in the afterlife."

Once I was finished giving my respects to the departed I heard someone yelling out. I turned to where the screaming was coming from and saw that it was a Britannian soldier doing the shouting. Upon closer inspection he was yelling in my direction, and more specifically, he was yelling at me. What now? The Britannian soldier came running up to me with an angry expression on his face.

"You, you are a Britannian student aren't you? What are you doing out in a place like the ghettos? This area is still under investigation while we look for possible terrorist groups that could be hiding out here!"

"I haven't heard anything like that."

"It doesn't matter, orders are orders. Now that I found you out here you seem pretty suspicious to me. I am going to have to take you in to answer some questions."

Geez, what is with these Britannian soldiers? How should I get out of this one?

As the man continued to bellow out at me a sudden surge of anger flow through me. The next thing I knew I could feel a strange flow of power starting to swirl itself around in my right eye. I had no idea how or why that was occurring as I also started to speak out unconsciously.

"Why don't you…"

"Huh…What was that?" The soldier yelled at me.

"Oh yeah, well why don't I just…"

"Wait, stop!"

Before I could finish my sentence there was another person who called out to us. It was a different Britannian solider who came running up to us, except this soldier was more familiar to me. It was Suzaku who was running up to us. The strange power that was swelling up in my right eye vanish the instant I regained my calm, composed self.

"Stop, don't hurt him! He is just a normal school student. I know him…we go to the same school together!"

The soldier then scowled at Suzaku as he defended me and try to give a legitimate reason for why I was here.

"Well, whatever…Just take that student back to that school of yours and keep him out of this place!"

"Yes sir!"

"You may be an Eleven, but you still got your duties as a Britannian solider."

The soldier then sneered at us for the last time as he turned around and walked away. Once he was out of our sight Suzaku turned towards me.

"So Rai, what are you doing out here anyways?"

"I was just…trying to look for some clues to my past…that is all."

"You were willing to come out to a hazardous place like this just to find clues to your memories? That is kind of a bold thing for you to do."

"Yeah…well…"

"Listen, I heard some rumors at school that you and Kallen went out to the ghettos once and got caught in the middle of a terrorist attack. Is that true though?"

Suzaku wanted to know if I came out here before. I wonder…should I really tell him what happened? Kallen told me not tell anyone about what happened to us that day. But, I had this feeling inside of me that said, unlike the other Britannian soldiers, I felt that I could trust Suzaku with the information I had. Yes, that is what I had to do right now…I had to trust Suzaku.

"Well…actually…what happened was…"

I told Suzaku everything that happened that day. I told him how Kallen and I went to the ghettos, how I had that vision, when the terrorists appeared and picked a fight with the Britannian military which resulted in the deaths of several Elevens, how the only way I could protect Kallen at the time was by making us board a knightmare and how I piloted it, and finally how the Black Knights came and saved us while they took out the military and the terrorists at the same time. Suzaku's face was saddened when I finished my story.

"I see…so that is what really happened. But, at least you two were about to get out unharmed."

"Yeah…"

"But Rai…did you really pilot a knightmare in that skirmish?"

"Yes, I did. And don't ask me how I knew how to pilot it because I don't really know myself. I just knew how to operate it at the time when I looked into the cockpit."

"In that case it could mean that you are a Britannian soldier as well, just like me."

"Me…a Britannian solider? I didn't want to think of myself as one of them but it could be a possibility."

"Well, you being able to pilot a knightmare sure is surprising. I am sure that piece of information is a big part of your past. Tell you what; I will go look into the military personnel files to see if your name comes up somewhere. I know some good people in the military that will be able to look into that for you. They might be able to find your true identity."

"You really think so?"

"This might be your big chance to finally know who you are. We definitely need to look into this. Well look at the time, you really need to get on back to Ashford Academy."

Suzaku then escorted me back to Ashford Academy. He came with me so there wouldn't be any more misunderstandings with the military. I wonder if my name will come up anywhere on the military personnel list? Well, in any case this was my big chance to finally learn something about myself. I am not too big on relying on the military to help me out, but I was going to learn the secrets of my past no matter what.

* * *

(Third Person View)

Meanwhile, after Suzaku and Rai left the ghettos Kallen, who had been watching and listening to everything in the shadows, parted from the area as well as she thought to herself.

"Rai, a Britannian soldier? That is impossible…He doesn't act like most of those Britannian soldiers. If anything, he is a Japanese who worked with an anti-Britannian resistance cell, like I used to be before I joined the Black Knights. Whatever the case I have to keep Rai away from Suzaku before he comes up with a weird idea like making Rai join the military or something like that. I will have to prevent that from happening no matter what!"

Moving on to the next Stage...


	8. Stage 7

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 7: Lelouch's Suspicions

The next day before classes were about to start I wanted to go up to the rooftop to get some fresh air. Milly had me doing paperwork for her all morning and I needed the wind to blow in my face and cool off.

When I got up there I found someone was already there. Lelouch was nearby, standing idly at the handrail. Lelouch must have heard me coming because he turned and gave a simple wave at me.

"Oh, it's you…Hello."

"Hi…"

"Come over here and take a look." Lelouch said as he turned back around.

I came over to see what he wanted me to look at. First he made me look at the view of the orderly constructed settlement, and then the view of the ghettos which spread out beyond it.

"So, what do you think?" Lelouch asked.

"I wonder which side I belong to? Do I belong with the side of the rulers or am I on the side of the ones being ruled over?"

"That is really a strange way to think about it. Whether you are a Britannian or whether you are an Eleven. But no matter who you really are my attitude and the attitudes of the student council members who have connected with you won't change."

Those words, for someone like me, with no one to depend on, made me happy and feel more at ease.

"Lelouch…you…"

Lelouch responded to my words with a soft smile.

"Well, we better head off to our next class now. Let's go Rai."

"Uh…Sure…"

The two of us then left the rooftop and went downstairs to our next class. Lelouch went over to his usual seat by the window and I went to one of the back row seats. Before class actually began I was talking idly with Shirley and Rivalz.

As I was talking with them I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me. It wasn't like one of those cold stares I usually receive from the male students of this school. It was more like someone was keeping tabs on where I was at and what I was doing. I looked towards the front of the class and saw Kallen, who was sitting close towards the front row, had her mirror placed on top of the desk. I could tell the mirror was positioned to face in the direction of where I was sitting at. Was she…looking at me for some reason? I couldn't tell why. When she noticed I was looking in her direction she took her eyes off the mirror and faced forward. I could only wonder about what she was thinking about up there. At that moment the teacher finally showed up and started class. It was the same type of lecture that I hear every time I go to this class.

Once class was finished the teacher got his stuff together and left. Some students also got up from their seats and went out the door as well.

At that time Suzaku, who was given an assignment from Milly to carry some boxes from the auditorium to the clubhouse, came into the classroom to ask me for some help. Before he got anywhere close to me though Kallen suddenly sprung out of her chair and quickly went to the back of the room where I was still sitting at and stood next to me.

"Hello Rai…I was wondering…you do have everything you need for class, right?"

"Huh…well yes, Milly already prepared it all for me."

Suzaku noticed that I was now talking with Kallen and didn't want to interrupt or be in the way so he just turned around and walked away with a smile on his face. Kallen turned her head around for a moment and saw Suzaku leaving. She then looked back at me.

"I see…How about the contents of the lesson? Are you able to follow through it all?"

"Since I can understand the words used it is fine as long as it is properly explained. But, I can't help but feel that I had already learned it in the past…"

"You think you have already learned it? In that case maybe looking around various places might really help restore some of your memories after all."

"You know, I am much obliged to you for helping me out and all."

Her face started to turn red when she heard me say that.

"I-It's nothing…It is just because this is also part of my work for the student council, that is all."

"Oh yeah, that's right."

"So, where shall we go today, or are you going to go run off by yourself again?" Her words sounded a little harsh on the last part.

"I don't really mind where I go today. We can go where ever you want to go."

"Even if you say it like that…"

Then out of nowhere Milly appeared looking all cheerful and excited.

"Oh my, what a good atmosphere we have going on here!"

"President, it is nothing like that!" Kallen said as her face got even redder.

"I get it, I get it. Leaving that aside, Kallen, I need you to help me with some work for the student council before going on your date after school."

"A date…?" I said in a confused manner.

"President, I just told you it is nothing like that!" Kallen said that as the slightly embarrassed expression as her face was starting to get as red as her hair.

"Alright, alright, I will stop joking around. Sheesh, you two need to loosen up a bit. But I do need your help Kallen."

"I will help too if it is not too much to ask." I said as I offered to assist them.

"Sorry Rai, but we won't need your help. There are some things that only us women can do. So you are just going to have to be patient and wait for us to finish. Why don't you just go take a walk around the school or something?"

"Oh…well okay then…I guess."

"We will go out together after I finish my work for student council today, okay?" Kallen said.

Having said that Milly and Kallen left the classroom at a quick pace.

Now that I was alone, I began to wonder what I could do to pass the time. After thinking about it for a short while I got up and left the classroom.

While I was moving around the courtyard someone suddenly called out to me. It was Rivalz.

"Hey Rai…You are not with anyone today?"

"I am just waiting for someone. But…why aren't you with Lelouch? You two always seem to be together."

"We are not with each other all the time, you know."

"Well, it is the same with me too."

"Oh, did you just turn my own words against me? Your mouth goes around more than I thought it did."

"Huh…"

"When you meet with people it is better if you talk more with them. If you express your ideas in words it becomes easier for others to understand you."

"I see…I will make sure to remember that."

After that we both parted ways with each other.

Sometime later I encountered Shirley out in front of the clubhouse. She seemed to be surprised to have come across me.

"Oh, are you the only one here today? There was nobody in the clubhouse besides Nuna and Sayoko."

Nuna is the nickname Shirley gave to Nunnally. Sayoko is a maid who works for the Ashford family.

"Well, I guess I am the only one around right now." I replied.

"You are also by yourself today it seems."

"I am just waiting for someone."

"You know, lately you have managed to blend in with the rest of the school, haven't you?"

"Oh really, is that so?"

"Yeah, you have been talking with various people in order to find the key to your memories right? And those encounters will also become a part of your memories. They will become your new memories."

"Really…"

"Yeah, let's all make some good memories together."

"Sure."

"Of course…well then, I will be going now."

"See you later then Shirley."

Shirley then parted ways with me. Shirley always did seem to know what to say to lift people's spirits up.

After walking around some more I found myself back in the courtyard. I grew tired of walking around the schoolyard by myself so I decided to go take a rest underneath the shades of a tree. I just laid my back up against the tree and closed my eyes as a light breeze blew by. Everything felt peaceful on that sunny, cloudless, afternoon as I relaxed under the shades of the trees.

An hour or so later I heard someone call out to me. I open my eyes and I saw Lelouch standing a few inches away from me with a smile on his face.

"Hey there Rai, did you have a nice nap there?"

"Hmm…Yeah."

Lelouch then offered to pull me up with his hand.

"So, I have been thinking and I have a question to ask you."

"Let's hear it."

"Have you managed to grasp the current state of affairs of Area 11 yet? Or, to put it another way how do you see the relationship between Britannia and Japan?"

"What is the point of this question? You know, you sure have been talkative a lot to me lately."

"Well…I was only asking because I think it might somehow be connected to your memories…I believe one's thinking and mentality unconsciously reflects the source of one's personality after all."

"You really think so?"

"Well, under these circumstances I think it would be best if you try out various methods. So, have you come up with an answer?"

After taken a moment to think about Lelouch's question, I gave him my response.

"The defeated are ruled over by the victors. That is how I see Area 11."

"True…and the Britannia government are quite severe against its Eleven citizens."

"It truly is terrible…But, it can also be said that this is just the natural result."

"Oh really…how so?" Lelouch said that as is he was getting interested in what I had to say on this subject.

"Japan did not possess that much power from what I have seen and read about. So, it was defeated. Now this is the result of being defeated."

"Well, that…makes sense…But what about Britannia's inability to erase all of the seeds of resistance that appeared afterwards?"

"That is because Britannia has nothing else besides power."

"Just having all that power isn't enough to wipe away all the resistance. Is that what you are trying to say?"

"Yes."

"Then does the person who ascertains the strength of their power and who doesn't make a mistake in using it, win then?"

"If the goal is winning or losing then, yes…"

"Though you have lost your memories it seems like your way of thinking can't be shaken at all."

Lelouch said that, but having only knowledge uninfluenced by my memories could only make me look at the entire situation objectively. It is true that I didn't feel strong resentment towards the current state of the Elevens like Kallen, but neither did I share Britannia's point of view of looking down on them.

"And even though you are already distracted by your own circumstances you were able to judge it firmly."

"Huh…really?"

"Yes, I think that is an important quality to have. Thank you, I am glad that I was able to have this talk with you."

"Um…Sure thing…You are welcome…I guess."

After we finished our conversation Kallen came walking up to us.

"There you are Rai. I am finally finished with my work with Milly. Shall we get going now and…Hmm…Lelouch?" Kallen then noticed that Lelouch was here as well.

"Well then, I guess I better leave now. I wouldn't want to be a nuisance to you two…farewell."

Lelouch gave a simple wave of his hand and then headed off for the clubhouse.

"We better get going before it gets too dark to walk around."

"Hnn, fine…So where are we going anyways?" I asked.

The two of us then headed off for the settlement.

* * *

(Third Person View)

Later on that night Lelouch was sitting in his room thinking about a certain silver-haired boy.

 _"Rai…Considering his mismatched memories and knowledge, he has a wide point of view and a clear will. It has been almost two weeks now since Milly and I found him and there have been no public announcements from the army or government, nor have there been any searches for him on a civilian level. He doesn't have the look of a normal Britannian soldier. He also doesn't seem to want to create a disturbance, possibly because he has no reason to do so, if that is really a reflection of his true character. Could he possibly be from the aristocracy or…from some other royalty somewhere around the world, or maybe even from the Imperial family…?"_

Lelouch then quickly shook his head no.

 _"No, that would be making too much of a leap. However, Kallen observed his knightmare piloting abilities, as well as his ability to think and judge under duress…"_

Lelouch then looked out the window and while holding a black-colored chess piece representing a knight saw Rai heading back to the clubhouse.

 _"Whoever he is, he is definitely a chess piece I want to get my hands on…"_

Lelouch then put the chess piece down, pulled out a special black-colored cell phone and dialed a number on it.

"Q1, this is Zero. That silver-haired boy you told me about, I want you to bring him to me in a few days. Yes, that is all."

* * *

At that exact same time someone else was also thinking about that same silver-haired boy. Suzaku Kururugi was heading into his workplace and walked over to a female soldier who was working on a computer.

"I am sorry to interrupt you from your work Miss Cecile, but I was wondering if you finished looking up that piece of information I asked you to look into."

The female soldier known as Cecile turned her chair around so that she was facing Suzaku.

"Yes, I did find some time today to look into that person you told me about."

"So, did you find anything out about him?"

"I looked through all the military personnel files but I am sorry to say that there was no Rai listed anywhere."

"What about people with silver hair?"

"Out of all the people I looked up I found about five people, but none of them had any other physical features similar to the person you mentioned. Finding someone with silver-hair is a rarity after all."

"I see…"

Suzaku was saddened by the fact that the big lead he found ended up at a dead end. This led him to be even more confused. If Rai is not a Britannian soldier then how is he able to pilot a knightmare? Then again, it has been seven years since the knightmare frame has been introduced to the world. Other countries have been putting in research on how to create their own knightmares. Suzaku then began to wonder how good Rai was at piloting a knightmare. Rai didn't say how good he was; only that he could escape from the encirclement. This led to a new idea.

"Miss Cecile, would you mind if I brought a student from my school here to try out the knightmare simulator?"

"Absolutely not…That simulator is used to train soldiers, it is not a game that you can play with!"

"Sir Suzaku, is this person you are talking about that silver haired kid I see you aquatinted with at that school of yours?"

Out of nowhere a man dressed like a researcher appeared which surprised both Suzaku and Cecile.

"Ah, Lloyd!"

"Lloyd, what are you saying?" Cecile demanded.

"Are you saying you know Rai?"

"I don't know a single detail about him. The only thing I do know however is that he certainly does give off the scent of a knightmare pilot; that is for sure."

"You really think so?" Both Suzaku and Cecile said.

"I sure do. Why don't you bring him in here one of these days I will give him a simulation to do. If he is good enough then maybe he can join our little research crew, the Camelot. We could always have another devicer handy after all. Especially now since second prince Schniezel had Miss Cecile and I work on more new prototype knightmares ever since I turned in the data to him on how successful good old Lancelot was."

"I guess we do need more volunteers especially since Suzaku won't be able to test them all by himself."

Lloyd then got right into Suzaku's face which caused him to move back a little.

"So, did you get all of that?"

"Yes, Iwill make sure to bring him by whenever he is available. Which might be a little difficult since Rai is also in Student Council and unlike me, there is nothing keeping him from leaving his duties there."

"Whenever you have a chance is good enough for me." Lloyd replied.

* * *

(First Person View)

The next morning I was in the cafeteria eating breakfast while listening to Milly talk.

"Oh, aren't you eating vigorously for once? Food gives you energy you know! The taste itself doesn't really matter."

"Today I just feel hungry; that is all."

"Well that is good…Along with Suzaku you are in charge of all the student council's heavy labor because your bodies are our only hope for those kinds of things."

"How did you form that logic…?"

"It is very simple. As you know, Lelouch is rather physically weak and while Rivalz will lift things sometimes he most often feigns ignorance about that type of work. Because I know I can rely on you please don't slack off too much."

"Sure."

"Well, if you wake up one day and said, 'To be honest, I woke up in love!' as your reason, I will overlook it a little."

"Why would I say such a thing?"

"Am I wrong…Recently, haven't you been talking with the girls of the student council here and there? I am concerned for you as your guardian. But when you are so fickle all the time won't you end up being disliked by everyone?"

I then put my food back on my plate and looked down.

"Bull's eye…?"

"I would never let that kind of thing happen."

"You don't have to tell anyone not to worry! Because I am going to be cheering for you all the way! It is an adolescent's duty to fully enjoy their springtime of life. Try to do your best to enjoy it while you can! You never know what you might become in the future."

I have been completely overpowered by her once again. Well, that is the usual pattern of that person.

"Oh yes, and while we are at it have you decided about what you are going to do for the Blue Moon Festival?"

"Blue Moon Festival…what is that?"

"What, you don't remember? I had you hang posters of that event sometime last week."

"You mean those huge posters you had me hanging up everywhere that one morning?"

"Yep, those were the ones."

"What is this festival supposed to be celebrating anyways?"

"It still isn't going to be happening for several weeks from now but this festival is an Ashford tradition in honor of the old legend of the Blue Moon."

"The…Blue…Moon?"

"The legends say that once every year the moon will glow an ominous blue color for a few hours on one night. And any couple that confess their love to each while standing on the altar of a chapel when the blue moon is out will live a long, happy, life for all eternity with each other. Ahh…Don't you think that is the most romantic kind of love there is Rai?" Milly said as her elbows were on the table while holding her head with her hands and sighing contently.

"…I guess." I said in an uninterested tone of voice.

"Oh, you weren't interested at all were you?"

"Sorry…so what exactly is going to be happening for this event?"

"Well, for the most part there is going to be a huge party in the clubhouse as well as other events outside around the clubhouse. Oh, and once the moon comes out there will be a dance in the courtyard which will start when the girls of the student council is escorted by a boy from the student council. It is going to look beautiful!"

"Wait…What? You mean I am going to have to…"

"Yep, that's right!" Milly said as she pointed at me with a happy look on her face.

"So, who is going to be escorting you Milly?"

"Oh, I am not going to be escorted since I am going to be hosting the entire thing. But if I was going to be escorted I would want you or Lelouch escorting me. But that is only a fantasy because the two of you are already taken."

"Huh…how is that?"

"Well I am pretty sure that by now you know Shirley likes Lelouch a lot so it is obvious she wants him to escort her. And since you and Kallen seem to be with each other all the time it became clear to me that she will want you escorting her."

"I wouldn't say we are together all the time."

"Well surely you must feel something towards her by now don't you?"

While I wasn't really sure how I felt about Kallen I definitely knew I didn't want to talk to Milly about that kind of thing.

"Sorry Milly, but there is nothing going on between us at all…It is just the same old search for my memories quest."

"Hmm…could it be you only say that because you already have a girlfriend?"

"Huh…what are you talking about now?"

"From before you lost your memories. Do you think you already have a girlfriend and you just don't remember her?"

I just sat there for a moment to think about it but nothing was coming up.

"I don't think that is a possibility. From what I know about myself so far I don't think I am the type of guy who could easily ask a girl out."

"I suppose you are right. You do seem to doubt yourself and lose your confidence quite easily. And it would seem kind of awkward if you and Kallen were together and then a girl from your past suddenly showed up."

"Yeah…"

"But I am sure one of these days you will…"

Milly then looked up at the clock and suddenly jumped up.

"Oh my, look at the time! I have to get going Rai. There is this important meeting I have to go to with my grandfather today. Make sure everyone in student council does their work today okay?"

"Sure…"

"I will speak with you later Rai."

Milly then took off from the cafeteria. Well, since Milly isn't going to be here for the rest of the day no one is going to do their work anyways and there is also a holiday today which means no school, which concludes that today is going to be a free day for the student council members.

* * *

After I finished eating I headed out for the clubhouse and entered the student council room. Everyone seemed to be here besides Milly, obviously, and Suzaku, who seemed to be doing work for the military today. Rivalz and Lelouch had a chessboard laid out on one end of the table and were having a match against each other. I went over to watch and saw that Lelouch had Rivalz in check.

"Oh man, I lost! I just never seem to be able to beat you when it comes to chess. I wish there was someone else I could challenge around here." Rivalz said disappointed and then suddenly noticed me.

"Oh hey, Rai, I know, want to go a round against me?" He said challenging me.

"You want me to play chess? Sure, just tell me the rules of the game." I said as I sat down with them.

Lelouch and Rivalz then took a few minutes to explain the rules of the game to me. Once I had figured out most of the game mechanics I played a game of chess against Rivalz while Lelouch, Shirley and Nina watched. Once the game was over I came out as the winner.

"What, I lost to someone who has never even played chess before? How is that possible? Let's play again Rai."

"Okay."

Rivalz and I played chess for a few more hours but the result was always the same.

"Checkmate." I said as I put my knight piece down on the board.

"I lost again!" Rivalz cried out.

"You are so good at this Rai! Hey Rivalz, many losses does this make?" Shirley asked Rivalz.

"Twenty-one losses…" Nina pointed out.

"He is very skilled at making use of his knight. He firmly predicts the intention of his opponent and then cuts through them using precise timing." Lelouch said from his observation of the matches.

"I am just no match for him. I think he is as good as Lelouch at this game." Rivalz stated.

I noticed Kallen's eyes looking over here suddenly. She who usually never paid attention to the commotion of the other members and just sat there reading a book quietly. However, she seemed very conscious of me today and had glanced over here several times already. I am sure that she is thinking about something. That is what I thought but I didn't dare say anything about it, not with the commotion from Rivalz and the others still going on.

"I know, how about we see which one of those two would win in a game against each other?" Shirley suggested.

"Oh, I would like to see that. How about it Lelouch?" Rivalz agreed with Shirley's idea.

"I think it would be very interesting to go up against Rai, as long as he is up for it." Lelouch seemed like he was interested in playing against me.

"Sounds good to me."

I already heard that Lelouch was an expert at the game and now I was going to see just how good he actually was.

"Alright, it is the ultimate chess showdown! Who will everyone be betting on today?" Rivalz yelled out.

"Hey, we don't do that sort of thing around here! That's bad you know." Shirley said as she disapproved the idea of gambling.

"I know that already. There won't be any money involved. How about having the people who lose take care of one of the tasks for the student council of the winners for each game?" Rivalz suggested.

"Well, in that case." Shirley seemed to be okay with that idea.

"Well then everyone, please separate and go to your chosen side."

And so the first game has begun. Lelouch was using black while I used white. During the first game however, after a few moves I noticed that Lelouch's king was out in front of his other pieces. I thought it looked rather odd so I decided to ask him about it.

"Hey Lelouch, why is your king so far out from your other pieces?"

"If the king doesn't lead how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"

Huh, what does that suppose to mean? Ignoring his answer we continued on with the game until I was defeated.

We played again with me still using white and him using black and I won this time.

Then we decided to mix it up with Lelouch using white and me using black. I won the third match while Lelouch won the fourth match. Everyone besides Kallen seemed to be watching with amazement in their eyes.

"They are still completely tied up!" Rivalz boasted out.

"Two wins and two losses each." Nina said as she was keeping track.

"I am only watching and even I found it breathtaking." Shirley said with excitement.

"One more game…shall we decide it all with that?" I said to Lelouch.

"No, let's stop it here. If we start now the sun will have already been gone by the time we finish. Don't worry Rai; I am sure we will have our final match one of these days." Lelouch called out.

"Then let's break it up for today. Since no one won or lost we can continue the bet afresh later." Rivalz pointed out.

Preparing themselves to go home each of the student council members began leaving the room.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	9. Stage 8

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 8: Invitations

Once the chess games were over for the day everyone prepared themselves to go home with each of the student council members beginning to leave the room. Kallen also closed her book and stood up. She walked past me and moved her hands in such a way which was a signal she made up recently for when she wanted to talk to me and beckoned me out. After I saw her send me the signal to follow her, Kallen walked out of the room. I immediately got up and left the room as well to follow her.

As we were walking down the hallway from a certain distance from each other I noticed Kallen showed a faint smile for a brief second as she confirmed my presence behind her, but she still quickened her pace without looking back. Coming out of the hallway Kallen went out into the courtyard and then turned around, her red hair swinging as it blended in with the sky's sunset.

"What do you need from me?" I asked her.

"This…" Kallen replied as she then handed me a piece of paper.

"What is this for?"

"Tomorrow, please come to the place marked on it without fail." Kallen said as her eyes narrowed with a hint of seriousness in her voice.

"Huh…what are…"

"At that time, I will explain everything."

And with that Kallen walked away without looking back. I lost sight of her back at the exact same time as it went from sunset to twilight. The piece of paper she had left in my hand was a map indicating a place within Shinjuku. Why did she want me to come there I wondered. I couldn't understand that part at all.

* * *

The next morning I came up to the rooftop to get some fresh air when I noticed that someone was already up there. It was Lelouch and he was talking on his phone with someone.

"Yes, we are doing it tonight. Make sure everything is set up by then."

He seems to be in the middle of a phone call. It would be wrong to eavesdrop but I also think it wouldn't be right to just leave. I decided to call out to Lelouch.

"Hey Lelouch, what are you up to over there?"

Lelouch seemed surprised when he heard my voice as I noticed his entire body seemed to have twitched slightly upward. He then quickly tried to end his phone call.

"I will call back later to finish our discussion about tonight's plan."

With a serious look on his face Lelouch turned off his phone and shoved into his pocket. Lelouch then turned towards me with a smile on his face. I couldn't really tell if it was genuine or not.

"What are you doing up here at this time?"

Lelouch seems to be acting like I just came up here after his phone call ended. I decided to play along for the moment.

"I came to see the settlement and get some fresh air. Since you were already here when I got up here I spoke out. I seem to have interrupted you while you were on the phone."

"Ah, that…It wasn't an important phone call. I was already preparing to hang up anyway."

"Really?"

I couldn't really tell if he was telling the truth or not.

"It is almost time for us to go to our next class though. We really should get going now."

Lelouch was trying to change the subject now.

"Umm…okay then, I guess."

And with that Lelouch and I left the rooftop to attend our next class. As soon as the next class was finished Lelouch immediately got up from where he was sitting and left the room. He was probably going to go and continue that phone call from earlier. For some reason, that is what I thought at that moment. I eventually stood up and started to walk down the hallway.

While I was walking down the hallway I could see Shirley on the other end of the hallway speaking with various groups of people. As she was coming down the hall she eventually noticed me and cheerfully walked up to me.

"Hey Rai, have you seen Lulu?"

"Oh…Lelouch? No, I haven't seen him."

"But wasn't he with you this morning?"

"I was with him for a while but after our last class he got up all of a sudden and disappeared. I don't know where he went after that."

"I see…Thanks anyway." She said that with a disappointed look on her face.

"I am sorry for not being much help."

"No, please don't worry about it." Shirley then waved her hand goodbye and rushed on down the hallway.

Shirley is often worrying about Lelouch…Is that guy what you call a "worrisome existence"

* * *

Later on I was walking around outside wondering what I should do. I didn't have to go meet Kallen in Shinjuku until later this evening. I still thought it was kind of strange that Kallen would want to meet me out in the ghettos again, especially after what happened the other day. And she never really said why we were going out there in the first place, in fact she didn't say anything…Maybe I should stop thinking about it so hard. She wanted me to go out there for whatever reason and I should just be ready to go out there whenever the time came.

Since no one else I recognized was around at the moment I decided to sit down on a nearby bench and look up at the sky. The sun was shining brightly today with very few clouds around. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Once I got up and was prepared to leave the area someone called out to me. I turned around and saw Suzaku, who was running down the courtyard and came up to greet me.

"Hey Rai, are you busy right now?"

"Well later today I am supposed to go meet up with someone, but I am not busy now."

"Oh I see, don't worry, we won't be gone for too long. There is this place I want you to come with me."

"And where would that be?"

"It is actually the place I work at. There are some people I want you to meet. We came up with some activities for you to try out which might help restore some of your memories."

"Is that so? I guess I don't mind but is it really okay for someone like me to go to your workplace?"

"I already asked Milly and she said it was okay."

The two of us then headed off to where Suzaku worked at. I couldn't help but feel a little nervous about entering a military work zone.

* * *

Once we reach the location we were greeted by two people. One was a woman with indigo colored hair and wore a Britannian uniform. The other was a man who wore a researcher uniform. I believe I saw both of them once before outside of the school gates. Suzaku then introduced me to them both.

"This is Cecile Croomy and Lloyd Asplund; they are pretty much my bosses."

"Hello there." The woman named Cecile greeted me in a polite manner.

"Why, hello there!" The man named Lloyd said as he stared at me.

For some reason or another I couldn't help that the man with the lab coat seemed to be observing me more like I was some kind of object than a person.

Nonetheless, Suzaku continued on and then introduced me to them.

"And this is Rai, he is a student from Ashford that I attend classes with."

"Yes, we kind of already knew that part. Now then, now that we all know who we are shall we get going now?" The man named Lloyd shouted out and then started to lead us.

We then started to walk around the workplace. As we walked around I noticed a knightmare that was covered by a huge piece of cloth. Because the whole thing was covered I couldn't tell what kind of knightmare it was. I assumed it was a special customized knightmare.

We then stopped in front of what looked like a simulator.

"So, are you ready to try out a knightmare simulation?" Lloyd said.

"Wait…knightmare simulation? What are you talking about?" I confusingly blurted out.

I then noticed Cecile closed her eyes as if she was embarrassed as well as let out a sigh.

"…I knew that was going to be his reaction. I still can't believe we are trying to force him to do this. Not only that, while it is believable that Lloyd would do something like this I am still kind of shocked that Suzaku is also going along with this…" Cecile quietly tried to mutter to herself while Suzaku still had an innocent smile on his face.

"Hehe…sorry about that Miss Cecile."

After saying that Suzaku turned back towards me again.

"Anyways, I thought that since you were able to remember how to pilot a knightmare you might begin to learn more about yourself if you continued piloting them."

"Oh, is that so? Well, I am not what is going to happen out of all of this but I guess I will give it a shot."

I was still confused about the whole ordeal. I wasn't sure how trying out a knightmare operating simulator was going to help me remember anything. Then again, I suppose I have attempted crazier things already such as waltzing into a dangerous ghetto.

After deciding to put all my previous feelings behind I decided to give this a chance. I stepped forward and hopped into the seat of the simulator to get it started up. I suppose I could just pretend like this is some video game or something.

Unlike like that time in Shinjuku Ghetto when I entered that Burai though, this knightmare's controls were a little bit different. But I was able to easily adjust to the settings of this knightmare shortly after getting in.

Once the simulation started I immediately went all over the course and started smashing up other knightmares. My opponents were Glasgows and Sutherlands. Even though my machine had no weapons I was still able to easily knock them out all over the course with only punches and kicks. After about thirty minutes I finished the simulation with plenty of time to spare. Lloyd seemed exceptionally pleased at my performance that shouted at in joy. His voice seemed to have echoed throughout the currently hollow test room.

"Congratulations, you passed the test at ninety-two percent!" Lloyd said as if he was singing a pleasant hymn.

"Wow Rai, I didn't know you were that good at piloting a knightmare. It is almost kind of frightening." Suzaku said to me.

Suzaku's voice seemed to have both excitement and fear in it at the same time.

"Have you ever considered joining the military? There are open positions in our Camelot crew. We could use someone with your abilities and you are guaranteed good benefits." Lloyd said as he tried to persuade me.

"Well I don't know. I haven't really thought about it." I said as I scratched the back side of my head. It felt weird being asked a question like that.

"I know it is a little extreme but it is something you might want to look into. We may not have found you on the military personnel list but we have reliable searching networks." Suzaku added in from Lloyd's previous suggestion.

"I'll…think about it." I replied back with hesitation.

"Sure, there is no rush. Take plenty of time to think about it. Just let me know if you are willing to join and I will get Cecile or Lloyd to help register you in."

"I am sorry to say this but there is someone I have to go meet so I will be leaving now and will get out of your way now."

"Is this person you are meeting Kallen?"

"H-How did you know?" I said as I was surprised at Suzaku answered the question correctly so quickly.

"Well in that case you better get going. You wouldn't want to keep a woman waiting you know. I will guide you out of here."

Suzaku then started to lead me out of this place.

* * *

(Third Person View)

When the two boys left Lloyd and Cecile began speaking to each other in private.

"My, my, that boy sure is something. He passed the Lancelot Simulator at ninety-two percent. And here I thought nobody but Suzaku was able to operate the machine that well."

"What, that was the Lancelot simulator you had him doing?" Cecile was surprised at this revelation.

"Aha, I sure did and boy was that interesting."

"You don't think that kid is an ace pilot, do you?"

"Who knows, although I am curious in who taught him how to pilot knightmares. You definitely don't find talent like that so easily...Mmmmm…"

* * *

(First Person View)

After I left Suzaku's workplace I began heading to the place indicated on Kallen's map. As I was heading there I began thinking to myself. Join the Britannian Military? I wasn't so sure about that. Getting help from the military is one thing but working for them is completely different. I don't know Suzaku's reason for being in the military but there really isn't any reason or benefit for me to join. So I can pilot a knightmare, so what? I only piloted a knightmare that one time because I was only trying to protect myself.

After getting lost inside my own thoughts I woke up I found myself standing in the area Kallen has designated. The entire area was in destroyed ruins and looked like a place that people would never come to.

I went out into the plaza surrounded by rubble. Out there was a single girl standing at a spot that couldn't be seen from the rest of the surroundings. When I first saw her I couldn't tell if she was Kallen or not. She was wearing clothes that made her look like she was from a resistance cell or something. Also, along with a red headband she had her hair spiked up in the back instead of combed down like usual. It wasn't until she spoke that I could confirm it really was her.

"I had faith that you would come."

"Kallen…is that you?"

As the girl approached she spun around and showed her appearance to me.

"What do you think? Compared to how I am at school I mean. Are you surprised?"

"Y-Yeah…" I shyly replied back.

I somehow felt there was a gap in the speech and conduct between this Kallen and the one who always acted frail and sickly at school. However, I was also bewildered by her energetic appearance with her changed hairstyle and clothes. Was this person really Kallen, the same one I attended school with?

"Follow me…It's this way."

Without even bothering to say anything else Kallen went towards a staircase that had started to get buried in rubble. I had already come here in order to meet with her. I might as well follow after her. The stairs led to an underground shopping center. There was no one here of course but I could feel the former liveliness this place once had from the signs and posters of the wrecked shops here. This shopping center was unexpectedly vast…and lonely. The light of Kallen's flashlight was lost in the vast space as it illuminated the path ahead of us.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"I want you to fight with me."

"Fight, fight against who?"

I was perplexed with what Kallen just said.

"To fight against Britannia…You also understand that the state of the current Japan is wrong, don't you?"

"Why…"

"Because Rai, I think that you are probably Japanese. No, I am sure of it!"

I was so baffled with the current situation that I wasn't sure what to say here.

"This is what I believe after watching you. The real you is definitely closer to us Japanese than those Britannians. Besides, you should remember the anger you felt at the current state of the ghettos, don't you?"

"Yeah, but what about the terrorists from last time? Weren't they trying to fight against Britannia as you say?"

"That is exactly why! We have to concentrate our power, not on such indiscriminate attacks but on a more just goal!"

I wasn't even sure who I was talking to anymore.

"I am sure we can do it. I have a leader who can accomplish this." Kallen said with confidence.

"A leader?"

"Yes, I called you here so that you could meet him. Please, fight with me for the sake of Japan!"

After ending the conversation there the two of us continued to move deeper in. Eventually, I could see light from at the other end of the underground tunnel. There seemed to be several men and women standing there.

"We have arrived."

As we stepped inside the open space lights were suddenly lit up and my whole surroundings became bright. I had to put my arm over my forehead to see clearly. With the light sources arranged so that they were standing before a lit up background it felt like the psychological effect had also been taken into account when they set this up. Everyone there was dress in a black theme which gave them a sense of unity. The most striking one though was the person in the middle. It was what I assume to be a man wearing a black mask. Kallen ran up to the masked man.

"I brought the guy I told you about." Kallen casually said to the masked man.

"Good work Kallen." He calmly answered back.

"Rai…let me introduce you. This person is Zero…The leader of us, the Order of the Black Knights."

"Zero…The Black Knights…" I murmured to myself.

Now I remember; I saw this person on the huge television in the settlement once. He looks taller in person though.

"It is an honor to meet you, Rai. I have heard everything about you from Kallen. You are so talented yet everything about you is wrapped in mystery."

"Rai, I truly wanted for you to join the Black Knights without fail." Kallen added in.

"Kallen, are you…a member of the Black Knights?"

"Yes, my real name is Kozuki Kallen, I am actually Japanese too. Kallen Stadtfeld is merely an alias used for a temporary appearance. Zero, I recommend this person for admission into the Black Knights."

"Very well, you have my consent. I shall follow your wishes in this matter. However, the rest depends upon this person's choice." Zero said as he went along with Kallen's demand.

I see…so that is what this is all about.

"Let me tell that, if you were to refuse we will have to take measures in order to protect Kallen's secret."

"You mean seal my mouth shut right?" I immediately guessed at Zero's warning.

"It wasn't my intention to suggest that."

"Please, fight with us Rai!" Kallen said once again.

I see…the Black Knights huh…It is quite a surprise that Kallen is a member but it seems she isn't as weak and frail as I thought. But…I wasn't so sure on this. While for some reason something inside of my conscious was telling me to go for it there is no evidence that I am really Japanese. Just what would be the risks in joining up with an anti-Britannia group?

While I continued to debate against myself within my inner thought I just stood there in silence and didn't say anything. Zero noticed my stillness and called out to me.

"What is wrong?"

It seems that he was beginning to lose his patience with me.

"Does this silence mean that you refuse? In that case I guess it can't be helped…"

Zero then pulled a pistol out and aimed it right at my head. Ergh…Was he actually planning on shooting me or is it just a feint to get me to say something. I then noticed that Zero had his finger on the trigger and slowly pulled down on it until…

"Please wait…Stop!" I heard someone shout out.

Kallen rushed forward and stood right in front of me. Spreading her hands out in front of me she shielded me from Zero's gun. Zero then let go of the trigger but kept the gun pointed at me.

"This man would surely be a strong asset to our forces! Please Rai…Please join the Black Knights!" She was pretty much begging me to join at this point.

"Kallen…" I slowly said her name.

"The Black Knights pass judgment on the evils in this world! You saw that at Shinjuku ghetto; didn't you?"

That time, the Black Knights eliminated the terrorists as well as the Britannian army and also rescued the citizens in the area.

"And also, the Black Knights' intelligence network is quite reliable. We may even be able to discover something about your past."

My past, at present I know next to nothing about it. How much would I want to bet on the Black Knights being able to help me with this? And it is also true that the Black Knights saved the civilians of the ghettos from the military and the terrorists.

"I-I need a day to think it over. I am sorry; but with something like this…I need time to sort things through. But…"

I then moved Kallen out of the way so the pistol wasn't aimed at her. I then went and stood right in front of pistol, with it resting on my forehead.

"But if you really don't believe me then you can just kill me right now."

Now Zero was the one who was silent for a moment but then started to speak up as he lowered his weapon.

"You know, maybe you are right. Maybe I have been a little too persistent on making you join without considering your thoughts and feelings. Hmph…very well, I will give you twenty-four hours to think about it. But I have ways of keeping my eyes on you. So if you try to do something that is unfavorable to the Black Knights I will wipe you out; that much I can promise you. I can only hope that you will make a...favorable answer."

"I understand." I replied back.

"Kallen, take him away from here!"

She didn't say anything at first but then finally responded.

"Yes sir. Follow me."

Kallen then guided me back up to the surface of the ghetto. She didn't say anything or even look at me until we reached the surface. It was then that she looked at me and started speaking.

"Rai, I truly do believe that you are Japanese. And I believe that you can make a huge difference in this country that was once called Japan. I hope you give it some serious thought on what you choose to do. And, even if you decide not to join us don't worry; I will make sure Zero won't hurt you. But if you do decide to join please don't do it just to please me or Zero, do it for your own reasons got it?"

Kallen then left me with those parting words. I was then all alone in this silent, cold, deserted ghetto. I just stood there and thought about what Kallen just told me. Even after everything that just occurred Kallen was being considerate for me. Even though I could tell Kallen really wanted me to fight beside her for a just goal for her country she was willing to let me have the final say on the matter. She was going to let me a choice on my final answer. With that in mind I should probably make the best of the time Zero gave me. I got twenty-four hours to make a decision huh. Before I do anything though I will need to know at least something about myself, my old self. Even one fact of my former self would be good enough. I then headed on back to Ashford as the moon stared right down at me.

* * *

(Third Person View)

Later that night Zero entered his office and was greeted by a green-haired girl called C.C., who was sitting on a couch while chomping down on pizza.

"So, did Rai join the Black Knights?" C.C. asked.

Zero walked over to his desk and took off his mask, revealing himself as Lelouch Lamperouge, before answering her question.

"No, he needs time to think it over."

"Well that was to be expected. Did you really think he would join just because you asked?"

Lelouch then slammed his fists down on the desk.

"He understands the current situation of Area 11, he knows that what the Britannian Military is doing is wrong and he has the power to fight back, so why won't he…"

"Because he has no reason to do so; people don't do things without a purpose. Well, unless you use Geass on them, which is another possibility for you to use."

"I am not going to use my Geass on Rai. There is no point in making people join my cause unless they do so willingly."

"And it is because of that stubborn pride of yours is why Suzaku didn't join you. I mean, if you had used your Geass on him back then when you had the chance you probably would have conquered Area 11 by now."

Lelouch was a little shook up when he heard her say Suzaku's name.

"Things will be different this time. I will convince Rai to join the Black Knights."

"Is that what you truly desire? If it is at the core for your reason to exist then I perhaps I can help you."

"Do you really think you can convince Rai to join?"

"I will see what I can do. I am not making any guarantees…although I might be able to give Rai a few reasons to fight."

C.C. then finished eating her pizza and then got up to leave the room.

* * *

(First Person View)

The next day I didn't go anywhere. I didn't even leave my room and had it locked so no one else could come in. I didn't want to talk to anyone; not Kallen, not Suzaku, or anyone else as I tried to sort all the advantages and disadvantages of what action I could take. As I lied on that bed I tried to remember something from my past. Come on think, my memories has to be in my head somewhere. Maybe the only reason why I can't remember anything is because I am just not thinking hard enough. Come on, think, think, think!

I then closed my eyes tightly and tried to delve into the depths of my head. But no matter how hard I tried to reach inside the darkness in my mind something kept pushing me out. Dang it, all I need is one clue. That is all it would take for me to decide what I should do.

As I continued to squirm about on my bed my thoughts were interrupted when I heard a knock on my door.

"Rai, are you in there?"

That was Milly's voice that just spoke out.

"Y-Yeah…I am in here."

"Why is this door locked? And I heard from the other student council members that you didn't attend your classes today. Why is that?" Milly said on the other side of the door.

"I…I just don't feel well today." I replied back.

"Oh, do you need someone to comfort you in there? Because if you want I can come in there and try to cure you."

"Uh…don't worry; I think I will be fine soon."

"Well okay then, but…"

Her voice then suddenly shifted into a more serious tone.

"We need to talk soon. There is something important I need to tell you. Whenever you are ready to talk I will be waiting for you on top of the school rooftop."

I then heard the sounds of footsteps walking away from my door. Her tone of voice, it wasn't her usual happy and cheerful voice. It was quite severe, for her to sound like that it must be crucial. I continued to lie on my bed for about thirty minutes before deciding to get up and leave my room.

After closing the door I started to head on down the hallway until I was outside the clubhouse. I was passing by the garden area when I was called out by someone. Or, at least I thought.

"Hello there big brother."

I turned to where the voice was coming from and saw Nunnally sitting in a wheelchair where the flowers were at. She was facing me with her closed eye lids and was calling out to me. Wait a minute; did she just call me…big brother? Did she think that I was Lelouch? I talked back to correct her.

"Sorry, but it's me, Rai."

Nunnally seemed to be shocked when she heard me talking and formed a confused look on her face.

"Rai, is that you? I-I am so sorry. I-I thought you were my big brother Lelouch. You both give off a similar presence."

Huh…am I really that comparable to Lelouch?

"No, it is alright. It was just a misunderstanding that's all."

"Yeah, it is just that recently my big brother is gone for most of the time besides supper and when he says good night to me. Hey Rai, you know you are free to come eat supper with my big brother and me anytime you want. It is always just the two of us and I think my big brother would be glad to have you eat with us."

"Oh, is that so?"

Somehow I found that hard to believe since Lelouch always seems to give the impression that he doesn't want anyone near him or his sister when they are both together.

"Yeah, whenever we are together he likes to talk about you sometimes and guess what your true identity might be. Sometimes his explanations are really funny…but in a good way. And he also said that you were a good chess opponent and that he enjoyed playing against you. There is only been one person I know of who gave my big brother a hard time in chess."

And here I thought the guy had no interest in me at all. As much as I would have liked to continue this conversation however I really needed to get going.

"Well, maybe I will come over sometime but right now I really need to get going."

"Oh, well good bye then Rai, I hope your memories return to you soon."

Even though Nunnally wouldn't be able to see me, I decided to bow gently before making my exit. I then swiftly headed up to the rooftop to speak with Milly. When I got up there I saw her sitting on the handrails.

"So, are you feeling better now?" Milly asked me.

"Yeah, I am feeling fine at the moment. You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Oh yes, that…Well I am not sure how to exactly tell you this but…I think I discovered something related to your past."

"Y-You did…what is it?"

I suddenly felt my body grew tense.

"I had one of our doctors look over a blood sample I took from you when you first arrived here and they discovered something in your blood. There is some good news and some bad news though."

"And that would be…?"

"Well, the good news is that you are a Britannian. The bad news is that you are also an...Eleven."

Moving on to the next Stage…


	10. Stage 9

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 9: Decision

"I am…a Britannian…and an Eleven?" I slowly said.

"I'm guessing this is quite a surprise for you to discover, isn't it?" Milly called out.

"Y-Yeah…" That was all I could manage to say at the moment.

Somehow I always felt I was somewhere in the middle of the two sides.

"You know, back before Britannia's takeover of Japan it wouldn't be considered weird for a Britannian and a Japanese person to be married to each other. But you don't really see that anymore unless it was for political reasons."

"Milly, was there anything else they found in my blood?"

Milly showed a disheartened expression on her face before answering my question.

"I am sorry Rai but…we couldn't trace it back any further to find out your relatives or anything. There was a time when my family had the technology to do so. But because of the death of one of our sponsors the Ashfords have lost most of its power and influence."

"So, what should I do now?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Now that I know I am a cross between a Britannian and an Eleven is it really okay for me to stay here at this school or the settlement for that matter? What I am trying to say is where does someone with a split nationality like me suppose to fit in?"

This whole revelation caused me to stare only at the ground with my face looking like that of a lost child.

"Hmm…well it is true that half-blooded Britannians don't receive as much respect from full-blooded Britannians. In fact the royal families and the military treat half breeds the same as the Numbers."

"Really, is that so…" I said as I fell into an even heavier slump.

Milly however got off the handrails and suddenly started to speak in her usual cheerful voice.

"But you don't have anything to worry about! It doesn't matter to me if you are only a half Britannian. You are welcome to stay here at Ashford for as long as you like. Your secret is safe with me. I won't even tell anyone on student council."

Hearing her say that made me look up once again and feel reassured to know that I wasn't carrying this heavy weighted truth about myself alone.

"Thank you, Milly." I sincerely said with relief.

Milly just laughed after I said that.

"Haha…Oh, you don't have to thank me for anything. Anyways, now that I told you this information how about you go take a walk around the settlement to think things through. Who knows, you might discover something new in the settlement with the knowledge you now possess."

"Well, in that case I guess I will be going now."

After decided to follow her suggestion I turned around to leave the rooftop but before I got anywhere Milly quickly got in front of me.

"I almost forgot, take this with you."

She then handed me a small tube that contained what appeared to be red liquid.

"What is this?" I asked her.

"This is the blood sample I took from you to be studied on. But now I think it would be better if you have this instead of me. Who knows, you might run into someone with better research technology than what we have here."

Two places suddenly came to mind when she said that.

"Don't worry; now that I have this piece of information about myself, it has only encouraged me to try even harder to discover who I really am." I said not only to reassure her but also myself.

"I am glad to hear that. You are definitely going to have to try harder from now because there isn't much that I can do to help you anymore." Milly said with a somewhat depressed tone of voice.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well at this point I have tried everything in my power to help recover your memories. But all that we manage to learn is that you are half Britannian and half Eleven. But what you want to know are real events that happened in your past right?"

"Yes."

"The only thing I can do for you now is just let you use Ashford Academy as a haven for your convenient use. I am sorry to say this but from this point on you are probably going to have to get some outside help to assist you in regaining your memories. By that I mean people outside of this school."

"I see…people not affiliated with this academy."

"But I kept you up here long enough. Now get going, your memories are out there somewhere, waiting for you."

"Right, I will be going now."

I then proceeded to leave the rooftop with a new strengthen resolution as well as a new goal in mind. When I was out of sight Milly silently whispered something to herself.

"Good luck, Rai." Milly said with a saddened but still pleased smile on her face.

* * *

I was now walking around the settlement trying to figure out my next course of action. As I was strolling around I looked at the buildings, the people and the sky as I passed by. Even though I have seen these things before they all still look the same to me. It was as if I could only see a lighter shade of what I was looking at, almost colorless.

After looking around for a while I found myself standing in the middle of the park. I looked around the place and I saw a man who works in the stand being beat up by six guys. I went over to get a closer view and saw that it was the Eleven salesman who got thrashed about a week ago. Three of those thugs also look familiar. One of them, who I presumed to be the leader turned around and noticed that I was watching and suddenly freaked out.

"You, you are that school punk from before!" He said as he pointed his finger at me.

"And you are the guys who are still beating up people for no reason." I remarked back.

"Well, people like this guy are nobody's anyway. They are just Eleven losers…Nothing but washed up has-beens!" The thug said as he stomped his foot on the Eleven's back, causing the salesman to shout out in pain.

When he said the word loser, it kept ringing inside my head.

"Losers huh…But what if they are only half Eleven…then what?"

"Heh, it doesn't matter if an Eleven is half Chinese, Indian, or even Britannian. Through the eyes of a full blooded Britannian, they are all losers!"

I see…so that is how a Britannian would think of me.

"But enough about stinking Elevens, do you know what ticks me off even more? I will tell ya…Silver haired high school students who go around asking pointless questions about the Numbers and would even go as far as sympathize with them…In other words…YOU!" The leader of the gang said as he shot his finger out and aimed it right at me.

"…Is that so?"

I shifted my eyes to the ground for a second as I murmured to myself. When I looked back up I suddenly noticed that all six of those gang members had me surrounded.

"Hey, now that I think about it where is that red headed cutie that was with you last time?" The leader called out to me.

Red headed cutie? I think he was talking about Kallen.

"Oh well, I guess she already dumped him." A different guy called out.

"Yeah, if I was her I wouldn't want to be with a white haired pretty boy who was about to get his ass kicked either." Another one said.

Then all six of them started to laugh out loud. I just simply placed my fingers on my forehead and smirked.

"Obviously you guys didn't learn what happened to you the last time you tried messing with me. Just because there are more of you guys now doesn't mean the result is going to change."

"Huh…why you!" One of them then started to charge at me with his fist.

Even an amnesiac like me knows what usually happens in this kind of situation. To them, I looked like nothing more than a weakling for them to beat up on. And almost always the lone victim like me gets clobbered and goes home with a new, disfigured look on their face. But maybe the result could be different this time. Maybe with this circumstance I am in right now I can learn something new about my former self. With this forgotten potential lying dormant within me I can…

And just like before my body began moving on instinct as I easily brushed his punch aside and delivered my own blow onto his face. The blow managed to make the guy fall flat on his back. Wow, even I was slightly impressed at what I just managed to do.

I didn't have too much time to be distracted though as two more guys came charging forward. However, they didn't seem to have that much of a strategy as I effortlessly managed to flip and knocked them over as well. Okay, that means there are three more guys left, the two remaining thugs and their leader.

I braced myself as I was expecting the leader's two cronies to come after me next. However, to my surprise the gang leader himself walked forward while his two lackeys stepped back to give him room. The leader didn't even bother to say anything as he swiftly lunged towards toward me and started to swing out a barrage of punches.

At first it was simple for me to dodge his attacks as he was only flailing punches around aimlessly. When he punched with his left arm I instinctively moved to the right, when he used his right fist I twisted my body to the left just enough to successfully evade. However, the gang leader eventually wised up and started to throw faster, more concentrated punches at me.

It was getting more difficult to dodge so I started to block his attacks with my own arms. But I soon realized that I couldn't keep this up forever. I need to find an opening and end this fast.

After blocking his next punch I readied myself and jump back to allow a fair distance of space between up. But it wasn't before long that the gang leader charged after and aimed a punch at my face this time. I used this moment to counterattack.

First I used my own left hand to intercept and brushed aside the leaders punch. As my opponent's body was being swayed slightly to the left from my previous action I moved my right leg forward and swept it across his legs. My counterattack caused him to lose balance and fall straight down, with his face getting covered with dirt.

'Tch…now you really pissed me off…" The leader of the thugs said as he slowly got back up with veins visually appearing on his forehead.

He then stuck his right hand into his pocket for a moment and brought out what appeared to be a pocket knife. The gang leader then slid his thumb across the handle to reveal the bladed portion that was about five inches long.

"Let's see you try to block my attacks now punk!" My opponent said with a somewhat deranged expression on his face.

It was obvious that at this point he lost all self control over himself and didn't seem to care about the Britannian law and using knives out in public like that. I wonder if he has some kind inferiority complex or something. Although right now wasn't really the time to be thinking about that as I saw him come after me again while swinging his knife wildly.

This time I couldn't afford to just simply block his attacks as I now had to carefully anticipate where he was about to swing his knife and move out of the way in time. I knew I needed to stop him as soon as possible. I continued to carefully dodge all his attacks and then positioned myself to get ready for my move.

When I saw the gang leader swinging his knife horizontally towards my head I ducked by falling backwards. I then raised my right foot upwards and kicked the hand that was holding his knife. He then screamed out in pain as the knife flew out of his hand and landed on the ground nearby. Now that he was distracted I reeled myself back up and formed a fist in my own right hand as I rushed towards him. As he was still distracted from my previous attack he didn't noticed coming until that moment and even in that last second it was too late for him. I shoved my fist hard into his left cheek and pulled his entire body down into the ground with just that one attack. It seemed he was knocked for good this time.

The leader was for sure a persistent opponent but I knew this wasn't over yet as I glanced over at the two remaining gang members. They looked like they were frightened with their leader unconscious but I wasn't going to let them get away, not after everything I have seen them do and what they just put me through.

I was able to swiftly and easily knock them out and then proceeded to pile all six of the gang's bodies on top of each other in a dog-pile and sat myself up on top of them.

"Hmph…well, it is obvious who the winner of this fight is, even though I was outnumbered and all. Is this what you call a one sided victory?" I bluntly said.

"H-Hey, get the hell off of us!" The guy on top, which was the leader who finally woken up, said as he and the rest of them tried to shake me off.

It felt like there was an earthquake beneath me as the six of them squirmed around restlessly while trying to discourage me from sitting on top of them any further. I was surprised that they still had to strength to move around like that and decided to jump off of them.

I then turned around towards them like I was about to say something to them but I couldn't think of anything to say so I turned back around and started to walk away.

"Hey, where do you think you are running off to? Come back here and say something dammit! This isn't over yet, you hear me!" The leader of the gang shouted out with rage.

I ignored what he said however and disappeared into a different area of the park.

* * *

I continued to walk aimlessly around in the park while thinking to myself until I heard someone call out to me.

"Those skills you displayed earlier were pretty impressive."

"Huh…?"

I was surprised to hear someone call out to me and turned to where the voice was coming from to see a girl walk out from behind a tree.

"You…you are…C.C."

I couldn't recognize her at first because unlike the other day she was wearing casual clothes instead of a school uniform. She also had her long green hair stuffed into that hat she was wearing. I could only recognize her because she had that same expressionless face from before. It was almost as if she was from another world.

"Not only do you remember me but you also remembered my name."

While C.C. sounded like she was surprised the expression on her face didn't change.

"Well C.C. isn't exactly a real name you know." I replied back.

She just ignored my reply and said something else.

"Rai, do you have time to talk right now?"

"Well I am kind of in a rush right now. There is a decision I need to make pretty soon."

"Don't worry, this won't take long. In fact, I may be able to help make whatever choice you are trying to make."

This girl, I don't know who she is but if she was willing to help me then I will listen to what she has to say. At this point I am willing to take to risk it and accept help from anybody.

"Okay, I'm listening."

C.C. then nodded and walked over to the nearest bench to sit down on. She then prompted me to sit down next to her. I had no other choice and sat down next to her to have a discussion.

"Like I said earlier you displayed some nice fighting skills when you fought those guys earlier. I was there watching the entire fight."

"You…You saw me?"

I was kind of surprised by what she just said. Then again, with that big fight scene I had earlier and with the way those guys made such a loud racket I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it would gain the attention of passersby and what not.

"Yes, and I learned something intriguing about you."

"You did?"

"From that one fight I learned that you are not the fighting type."

"What do you mean by that?"

"By that I mean you are not the kind of person who would pick a fight with someone. Your moves are all self-defense, no offensive moves. Whoever taught you wanted you to be able to defend yourself or possibly those precious to you in your past."

"And you were able to deduce all of that just by watching me?"

"It is not words that define a man, it is their actions, or so I have heard." C.C. quoted.

We were both silent then for a moment as the wind blew by. After a minute or so C.C. started to speak up again.

"Rai, you are half Britannian and half Eleven aren't you?" C.C. casually said.

"How did you know that?"

She surprised me once again. I was interested in how she came up with that out of the blue and allowed her to speak.

"Because, whether you are with a Britannian or an Eleven you blend in easily with both sides. Which leads to my next question…Rai, do you favor your Britannian side or your Eleven side more?"

After taking a moment to think about it I gave her my response.

"I don't know."

"Hmm, then let me ask you this. Do you think the way the Britannians treat the Numbers is fair, or to be more precise, justifiable?"

I took another moment to think before speaking up again.

"Well…I wouldn't exactly say that the way the Britannains treat the Elevens is anything but fair. In fact, I don't really like Britannia's behavior towards other cultures. But I am not saying that it is the people I hate, not at all, it is the system they are using that I don't like."

"So it is their hierarchy that you don't like?"

"I know that a lot of Britannians, especially the nobles and the military, look down on non-Britannians. But I also know that there are some Britannians that are good and kind towards others. Like the people on student council for instance and also…ugh!"

My head started to hurt really badly and it wouldn't stop throbbing. It started to hurt so much that I tried standing up but immediately got down on one knee. C.C. simply sat on that bench and smiled as she watched me cry out in pain. As my head hurt I started to see a new vision. This time I saw a girl the same age as me standing in an isolated place. She was a Britannian with long blonde hair and violet eyes. She was also wearing what looked like a blue military uniform. This girl seemed to be waving goodbye to me. She then turned around and started to walk away from me towards the setting sun in the horizon. When she was out of my view the vision started to fade away and I could see clearly again. My head also seemed to stop hurting.

"What…was that?" I spoke out.

"From the looks of things it seems like you just remembered something. Do you mind sharing it with me?"

I then sat back down on the bench with C.C. and told her the vision I just had.

"I see…so the discussion we just had about kind hearted Britannians made you remember a Britannian from your past. So who exactly is she, your lover perhaps?"

"No, it's nothing like that. When I saw that girl I felt like she was somebody I knew for a long time."

"A childhood friend?"

"That is probably the best way to describe it."

"You said she was wearing a military uniform correct? That means she must be in the Britannian military right?"

"The thing is though that the uniform she was wearing didn't look a Britannian military uniform. It looked like a military outfit from another country."

"So it means to suggest that she was tired of the Britannian law and decided to leave her own country. Wouldn't you agree with that?"

"That would be the best explanation."

"…This is just my assumption but I think that you and this childhood friend of yours lived somewhere close to the Britannian homeland. The two of you eventually got to the point where you couldn't stand to live under Britannian's rules. This girl decides to leave her home country and join the military of a country that opposes Britannia. You on the other hand decided to go to Area 11 for whatever reason, most likely to change this place somehow, for better or for worse."

"You think the reason why I am here is to change this place?"

"That would be the best conclusion to come up with. I think that your being here has great significant. After all, you have the power to fight back."

"…The power…to fight and…to change things…" I slowly muttered to myself.

As I was processing everything in my mind C.C. suddenly stood up.

"Well, I think we will stop here for today. I also got things I need to attend to. May we see each other again very soon."

And without saying another word she walked away and was gone in a second. I continued to sit on that bench to think of everything that has occurred up till now. So I am someone of mixed blood who used to be friends with a Britannian girl. Somewhere along the line she couldn't stand to live under Britannian's rule and we both went on different paths. She joined the military of a different country while I went to Area 11. In that case I must have lost my memories right before, during, or soon after I decided to come here. But what would I come here for? I still have no recollection of any such events happening.

Let's see…based on what I experienced here so far it seems like the battle between the Britannians and Elevens hasn't finished yet. Every day the Elevens continue to die as they fight for their freedom. Those who don't fight back live in poverty or get killed off anyways. Meanwhile the Britannians live in luxury and enjoy the riches this land has to offer. Is this really how things are suppose to be? Is it really okay for the Elevens to be doomed to their fate because they are weak? No, it is because of the system that Britannia uses is wrong. I finally get it. The people of Britannia act the way they do because of the system. If their system was wiped out then the people would change, theoretically anyways.

But still, was I willing to step into that kind of world, to fight against those kinds of odds. It would be so easy to just turn a blind eye to it all and just live an average, ordinary life at Ashford as only a Britannian. But I suppose I would never figure out who I really am if I did that. Unless I take that first step into the dangers and see the true reality of this world the secrets to my past will probably be lost forever. In that case I need to…

After spending about an hour thinking through everything I finally had my mind set on what I was going to do. I finally stood up and headed out to the area in the ghettos where I met Kallen yesterday.

* * *

When I got there I was expecting to see Kallen but there was someone else waiting there. It was C.C. again, except now she was wearing what looks like a restraint jacket. C.C. was the first to speak.

"The fact that you came here must mean you are going to join the Black Knights. Am I correct?"

"Yes, I made up my mind. But why are you here? Are you a member of the Black Knights as well?"

"I guess you can say that Zero…he is my accomplice."

"Accomplice…?"

"Never mind about that…Zero sent me here to bring you to him. But beware…once you start walking down this path there is no turning back. You will become an enemy of Britannia."

"I am already aware of that."

"I see, in that case put this on."

C.C. then handed me a blindfold.

"What is this for?"

"Just a safety precaution…Don't worry, I will be guiding you."

I then put on the blindfold and once C.C. was sure that I couldn't see anything she grab my wrist and started taking me to somewhere.

We were walking for a while until C.C. suddenly stopped and open what sounded like a door. She then grabbed my wrist again and we walked through whatever she just opened.

"Okay Rai, you can take off that blindfold." C.C. said to me.

I then removed the blindfold from my eyes and the first thing I saw was Zero standing right in front of me, his mask close to my face. He scared the crap out of me and I yelled out in fear as I fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry, was I too close in your personal space?" Zero said apologetically.

"Oh, look what you did Zero. You just scared the wits out of that poor fellow." C.C. sarcastically said with a smile on her face.

"Hmph…you are the one who made him stand so close to me. Is this another one of your ideas of a joke?" Zero retorted back.

"Well, you didn't try to move or anything. It was only supposed to be a little joke on the newest recruit after all." C.C. replied to Zero's retort.

As the two continued to talk amongst themselves I slowly got back up on my feet. As I was getting up I took a moment to look at my surroundings. It looks like we were in the lounge of a trailer. I looked to where Zero was standing and saw C.C. standing next to his side. They seemed to have stopped talking to each other and remembered that I was still in the room when I started to speak up.

"Actually, I have been waiting to speak with you again…Zero."

"Oh…and why is that?" Zero said as he looked back over at me.

"I wasn't completely sure at first but it became obvious to me now. The Britannians…the way they treat the Elevens…I can't stand by and let this oppression continue to happen. I am willing to do my part to help make Area 11 a place where the Elevens…no, the Japanese can live peaceful lives."

"I see…so that is your answer. In that case all I can say is…welcome to the Black Knights! I am looking forward to working with you Rai." Zero said as he stretched his arm out as if to welcome me.

"Oh yeah, I know that I said that I will join you guys but I should let you know that I am a member of the student council of the school that I go to and because of my duties there I might not be able to attend every one of this organization's operations."

"That is fine…It is important that you keep in contact with the friends that you attend school with. I am not asking you to join in on all of our activities but there will be times when I will need your assistance." Zero replied.

Wow, I didn't image that Zero was being so considerate and cooperative about it.

"Oh yes, I need to give you this."

As if Zero suddenly remembered something he then walked over to a coffee table and picked up a uniform that was placed there. He then walked back over to me.

"Here, this uniform is for you. Try it on."

I then accepted the Black Knights uniform and quickly put it on.

"Hey, this outfit fits me perfectly. How did you know my size Zero?"

Zero just chuckled to himself.

"That just shows how reliable our underground intelligence network is."

"That uniform looks good on you Rai." C.C. commented with a grin on her face.

I couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.

"Anyways, how about you go take a look around our headquarters to get yourself acquainted with this place? Although, we don't really have much to show you at this moment." Zero suggested.

"Alright, I guess I will go take a look around for now. But before I go I would like to request you to look into this for me."

I then handed Zero a small container.

"What's this…?" Zero questioned out loud.

"It is my blood sample. The people of Ashford Academy tried to look into my blood to find some clues to my past but they only managed to find that I am a half breed of Britannian and Japanese."

"You are a half breed Rai?" Zero sounded like he was caught off guard at this revelation.

"I guess you could say that is another reason why I am here. Yes, I am half Japanese."

"Thank you for this Rai. I will make sure to get this analyzed thoroughly. I might even be able to trace it down to your family heritage."

"Well, I will leave it to you then. Please excuse me."

I then walked out of the room.

* * *

I began walking around the Black Knight's hideout. Although, like Zero said there wasn't much to look at here. Most of the Black Knight's hideouts were in the underground tunnels of the ghettos.

As I was trudging around I stumbled upon their hanger. The only knightmares they had were Burais, and there were only a few of them. The Black Knights weren't nearly as big a group as I thought. But then again, the military haven't been able to wipe these guys out yet. As time moves on though this group will increase in numbers and will grow stronger. That is what I believed anyways. Once I seen enough of the hanger I was getting ready to leave when I heard someone call out my name.

"Rai!"

The voice was coming from the other end of the hanger. I turned around to see who it was and saw that it was Kallen. She was also wearing a Black Knights uniform and she started to run up to where I was standing. Kallen seemed to be excited to know that I was here.

"Rai…that uniform…are you…" Kallen started to say.

"Yes, from this moment on I am a member of the Black Knights."

"What made you decide that you want to join us?"

"After thinking it over I determined that what the Britannians are doing to the Japanese is wrong and that I should do something about it. Also, it appears that I really am Japanese, half Japanese anyways."

"I knew it, I knew you were Japanese!" Kallen cheered out.

"But at the same time I am also a Britannian." I pointed out.

"Your other half is Britannian? That mean…you are just like me, a half blooded Japanese and Britannian."

"I guess so."

"But the fact that you joined the Black Knights means you favor your Japanese side right?"

"I suppose."

Kallen simply smiled when I said that. I rested my back on the wall, closed my eyes and smiled as well.

"I guess that means I should call you Rai-kun from now on." Kallen started to say.

"Huh…what did you just call me?"

"It is the Japanese way of giving respect when talking to someone. You use the word kun when addressing a male."

"Oh, I see…then what would I say to you?"

"You can just call me Kallen-san if you want. The word san is the most common way of giving respect to any person."

"I see…"

I think for now though I will just continue calling her Kallen to keep it plain and simple. I am still having trouble with her two last names. I am also having a hard time adjusting to the personality of this Kallen, her true self.

"Anyways I will show you around the other parts of our little hideout, if that is alright with you."

"Sure, I don't mind."

Kallen then began showing me other parts of the hideout.

* * *

(Third Person View)

C.C. was sitting on top of a pile of scrapheap while staring up at the moon through a hole in the ground. As she looked at the moon she began talking out loud even though no one was there.

"So, it finally happened. Rai at long last decided to join the Black Knights…Now things are going to get very interesting…Yes I know, I will continue to watch after Rai for you but know that I am not his guardian. That is supposed to be your job…What, you are still trapped in that world?...Fine, I will make sure he regains his memories and does his duties for you but in the meantime I get to use Rai in any way I wish, which means your accomplice is going to be helping mine…After all, that was the deal we made…E.E.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	11. Stage 10

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 10: The First Mission and a Daughter's Pain

Today I was attending my class like I normally do. But I couldn't help but feel a bit fidgety while sitting in those classrooms. I am a member of the Black Knights now and while we don't discriminate against any nationality the group's primary attack targets are the Britannian Military. If anyone in this school ever finds out that I am a member of the Black Knights it could cause some serious problems. It is already bad enough that there are still strange rumors going around the school about me. Not to mention the fact that I am on the enemy list of several male students.

Once class was finished it was time for lunch break. I was getting ready to head for the cafeteria when I noticed Kallen discreetly beckoning me with her hand. Kallen then headed towards the roof so I decided to follow her despite the reactions of nearby students. When I got up to the rooftop I saw Kallen turn around while holding what appeared to be lunch boxes.

"Why aren't we going to the cafeteria even though it is lunchtime?" I asked her.

"Here, take this." Kallen just ignored my question and handed me one of the lunch boxes.

"This is…" Before I could finish Kallen started to speak up.

"As you can see it is a lunch box. I tentatively tried to make it myself."

"Oh uh…Thank you." I said as I accepted the lunch box.

"Remember, that time I asked you if you could use chopsticks? That is why…"

"Yes, I remember…"

We ate Kallen's lunchboxes as a breeze blew over the rooftop. As we were enjoying our meal up on the rooftop we started to have a discussion about things related to the Black Knights.

"Rai, there is a certain favor I would like to ask you." Kallen started up the conversation.

"What is it?"

"Now that you are a member of the Black Knights it would probably be in your best interest to stay away from Suzaku Kururugi. You should know why."

"…Because he is in the Britannian Military right?"

"Correct, if you keep being close to him your identity as a member of the Black Knights might get accidently revealed to him. If that happens he would most likely try to persuade you to leave or even worse arrest you."

I then remembered back to when Suzaku talked about the Black Knights and how he thought Zero's methods were wrong.

"Don't worry; I will try to keep my distance from him."

"Good, now how is it?"

"How is what?"

"The food." Kallen replied as she pointed her chopsticks at the boxed lunch I was holding.

"Oh, well I think this food is really good! I would like to eat this every day if I could." I said as I gave my honest opinion.

Kallen blushed when she heard me say that.

"Th-That is not the point; I wasn't talking about the food it is about the chopsticks. You don't feel uncomfortable when you use them or anything?"

"Now that you mention it I am having no problems using them."

After I gave my response I gave a quick twirl of my chopsticks and balanced them on my fingers as they spun around.

"I see…So, that mean it is possible that you lived in Area 11 or maybe the Chinese Federation…"

"Yeah…maybe."

Kallen then let out a huge sigh.

"What is it? Is some wrong?" I asked her.

"The food…did it really taste good?" Kallen asked while trying to keep her voice down.

"Huh…Y-Yeah."

"I-I see…In that case, if you would like I can make some more and we could come up here again sometime…"

"Yeah…I will look forward to it."

The bell then rang for next class. I was ready to head on down until Kallen stopped me while holding something else in her hand.

"Rai, wait."

"Hmm…what is it now?"

"Here is a book I want to lend you. Inside is a memo going over the Black Knights plan for tonight. Make sure you take a look at it today."

"Okay, I will." I replied as I accepted her book.

"Good, I will see you later then…"

Adding that in a low whisper Kallen then left. Watching her back as she went down the steps I then opened the book to where a bookmark was caught between the pages of a chapter. This must be the operation plans for the Black Knights. The time was written down on the memo as well.

* * *

Tonight we were going out to retrieve something called Refrain. That was the name of a drug that sent you on a trip to your happy past. That stuff was spreading throughout the ghettos at a rapid pace. Naturally, it was the perfect means of escape for the Japanese right now. Not that it was actually saving anyone, quite the opposite. The Black Knights is going to raid the warehouse where the refrain dealings are taking place and stop it from spreader any further. This was going to be my first operation as a member of the Black Knights.

Once my classes were finished for the day I was getting ready to head to the hideout when Milly suddenly stopped me at the gate.

"Ah, wait a minute Rai!" Milly called out to me as she waved her left arm in the air.

"Is there something you need from me?" I asked as I turned around in her direction.

"Yes, there is some paperwork I need you to do for student council."

"Do I really have to do it? I was planning on going somewhere today."

"Sorry, there is no one else available right now besides you. While I do understand that you might have other activities and things to do in order to restore you memories, but don't forget that you live under the care of the Ashfords. Also, remember this phrase, The one who doesn't work doesn't eat."

"Alright, I understand." I said as I was coerced into helping Milly.

* * *

Once I finished my work for student council I was finally able to go out to the Black Knights hideout. Once I put my Black Knights uniform on I spoke to Zero, who was in the middle of going over the plan for tonight's operation.

"According to the reports it said that you excel when it comes to operating knightmares." Zero spoke out to me.

"Well I wouldn't say that I am the best at it or anything." I bluntly replied back.

"There is also Kallen's recommendation…and I am interested in you as well. I expect much from you."

"I-I will do my best to keep up with your expectations."

Although I was recommended, when a student of unknown character suddenly appears interest is bound to boil amongst the others.

"The Black Knights can be said to be in a time of making great progress. Your coming at this time may be coincidence or even fate."

"Please don't talk about my coming here like that. I am only doing this for my own reasons."

"Yes, that is fine of course. Just keep working hard."

"Of course…Understood, sir."

I had joined thanks to Kallen's recommendation but there was no meaning in it if I can't find something to do here. I will have to try my best to keep up with everyone.

"Good, now let me show you the knightmare you will be operating."

I then followed Zero out to the hanger where the knightmares were. When we got there he stood right in front of a Burai."

"Does this machine look familiar to you?" Zero questioned me.

"Am I supposed to remember it?" I asked him back.

To me it looked just like any other Burai unit.

"Well we did some fixing up and re-coloring to this knightmare but this is the exact same Burai you used back in that terrorist skirmish in Shinjuku. The settings you had on this machine are exactly the same as well."

I didn't know whether I should be happy or sad. After all the Burai is only a remodeled Glasgow. Only fourth generation technology, so it wasn't anything that special. Still, I will act like I am surprised.

"Oh…well, thank you Zero. I look forward to piloting this machine again."

"Yeah, sure you do. Our operation will begin in thirty minutes so make sure you are ready to go. Oh yes, here, you can use this to defend yourself."

Zero then handed me a gun and proceeded to head back to his office. The weapon he gave me was a pistol. It was the same kind that he uses except I wasn't really comfortable holding this weapon. For some reason I felt like it wouldn't be the weapon of choice that I would use. Also, I don't even know how to use it really. Oh well, I will just keep it on me just in case. I put the weapon away and was getting ready to head for the lounge when C.C. came out from behind the Burai's legs and called me out. From what I heard from Kallen no one among the Black Knights seems to know who she really was besides being Zero's mistress.

"Hey." She called out.

"Huh…What is it?" I answered back.

"Have you seen Zero?"

"Yes, he headed back to his office a few minutes ago." I said as I pointed in the direction where I saw Zero heading earlier.

"I see."

"Is there anything else you need to know?"

"No, it is fine. For now anyway…"

"For now…?"

"Don't worry about it…'We' are all looking forward to seeing how well you do tonight."

She seemed to be hinting at something. But in the end I had no idea what it was. She is such a mysterious woman.

After C.C. left I headed for the lounge where most of the main members of the Black Knights were. Most of the members from the Black Knights were from Kallen's old resistance cell. The main members from her group were Ohgi Kaname, Tamaki Shinichiro, Inoue Naomi, Sugiyama Kento, Minami Yoshitaka, and Yoshida Tohru.

"Hey new guy, try not to drag your feet. We don't want you breaking our precious and valuable Burai." The one called Tamaki said to me.

" _He thought those Burai units were valuable?_ " I silently thought to myself

"Is your uniform size okay? It isn't too tight, is it?" Inoue said.

"You have Kallen's recommendation. Don't worry about anything and just keep calm." Ohgi insisted.

"I will try to do my best." I said reassuring not only to them but myself.

Everyone in the Black Knights had, for the most part, accepted me among them with relatively no objections. The fact that Kallen had stepped out to save me before had become well known in the group. But then again, Kallen herself had a good position among the Black Knights and her recommendation also helped support my own current position.

I looked over to where the discussion room was and saw Kallen sitting on the couch. Unlike at school Kallen was usually cheerful and active here but today she seemed to feel depressed about something. I decided to go over there and sit with her to talk about it.

"Did something happen?" I asked her.

"Yeah, it is about something that happened this morning…"

"What happened?"

"Well…"

Before she got to explain anything though Ohgi came up and said it was time to go.

"Are all your preparations done? Let's head out then." Ohgi said to us.

"Never mind, it is nothing important anyways. Let's go, Rai."

"Uh…sure."

* * *

The operation has begun. I waited for the right time in my Burai's cockpit. We were in the area between the ghettos and the settlement, at a deserted night-time warehouse district. We were waiting for Zero's instructions to head in. As we were sitting around the other members started to have a discussion.

"What the hell is Zero thinking? After all this talk about bringing down Britannia, he just got us running around helping the police." Tamaki said complaining.

"It still feels pretty good to have the will of the people behind us though." Ohgi said.

"Yeah, he is right. We are totally heroes on the net." Sugiyama commented.

Zero then sent out a signal for us to head in.

"There is the signal from Zero. I can't believe he got in there." Sugiyama said.

"How many tricks does this guy have up his sleeve anyways?" Tamaki said.

"Alright, charge in!" Ohgi commanded us to head in there.

The Black Knights, who had been hiding in the surrounding darkness up till that point moved in all at once.

"Let's go Rai." Kallen said as she jumped into her red customized Burai and headed straight in there.

I immediately rushed after her as well. Our two Burais charged forward. We were attacked by some machine guns, but such common weapons had no chance against a knightmare. The main force lead by Zero also rushed in and the dealings site was instantly taken over by us, the Black Knights. Kallen's Burai, which had burst into the inner part of the building suddenly stopped. I could see several silhouettes beyond it. It didn't seem to be those guys were from the illegal smuggling organization. The people inside the room seemed to be Elevens who were currently in a hallucinatory state from taking Refrain. A woman unsteadily stood in front of Kallen's Burai. This woman seemed to have stolen all of Kallen's attention.

"Hey Kallen, is something wrong?"

I tried to get an answer from her but she wasn't responding.

It wasn't until a few moments later that there was a sudden burst of shooting happening all at once. I noticed that the shoulder of the right arm of Kallen's Burai was hit and sent flying off. A white Knightmare appeared out of nowhere and then rushed forward. It was a member of the Knight Police. This meant that…

"The police…does that mean they are involved in this…Tamaki!" Ohgi screamed at Tamaki.

"Don't look at me! When I checked this place out there weren't any cops around!" Tamaki hastily replied back.

It was unknown whether or not Tamaki did a thorough search beforehand but judging from what I know about his personality so far I had a pretty good idea of what he did.

"They are rotten to the core…"

I heard Zero commenting.

It was too soon for them to have dispatched after hearing about this disturbance. The smuggling organization and the police must be keeping in contact with each other.

I then looked back over at Kallen's knightmare and noticed that she was running away. Not only that but she had the woman who distracted her before on her Burai's left hand. I also saw the Knight Police unit that appeared just now giving chase after her.

"I will go back up Kallen." I said as I got my Burai ready to give chase.

"Wait a minute Rai…There is another one up there!" Tamaki shouted out.

After looking around my surroundings real quick I saw another Knight Police aiming at Kallen from behind a container.

"…Oh no you don't!"

I immediately took aim and pulled the trigger for my assault rifle. The bullets penetrated the Knight Police's thin armor with ease. The pilot ejected as his machine was destroyed.

"Yes, I bet that Britannian bastard didn't see that one coming!" Tamaki said.

"Good job." Ohgi congratulated me.

I immediately went to go support Kallen. When I arrived I immediately noticed that Kallen's frame had fallen down, with its right arm already shot off along with both of its legs gone. The other Knight Police unit was present as well and was about to attack her cockpit with its knife. Seeing that, I suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline flow through my body as I made my knightmare charge in.

"You get away from her!"

I rammed my machine against the enemy with all my might as I knocked it against a nearby wall. The enemy's escape system received damage as it activated, making it eject the wrong way and landed nearby. I ignored him as I tried to connect with Kallen.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked over the communicator.

"Yeah, thanks for that." Kallen responded back.

Afterwards Kallen got out of her Burai and ran up to the woman she had kept protecting throughout the battle. I got out of my own Burai and approached as well. The lady seemed to be on Refrain, sitting there quietly with a peaceful expression on her face, not looking Kallen's way at all.

"Kallen…Who is this person…?" I asked her.

"She… She is my mother…" Kallen slowly answered.

That's…her mother? I looked at Kallen and then at the person she claimed to be her mother. They do have somewhat of a similar appearance. I suddenly felt like I shouldn't be standing there and started to walk away. Tonight had been fairly tough on Kallen. That is quite understandable. Since it involves her family, more so, her own mother; the pain in her heart must be deep.

As I was walking away the other members of the Black Knights went to go check on Kallen's Burai.

"Damn, the whole frame is messed up." Tamaki said as he stared at the machine.

"There is no way we can fix this." Sugiyama said.

"I think it would be best to just leave it here. We can't really use it for anything now." Inoue suggested.

"Kallen can have a new knightmare once those shipments from Kyoto come in. According to Zero, we are supposed to get a bunch of new knightmares, including a new model. Maybe Zero will let her use that one." Ohgi said.

When I got back to my Burai I was ready to get in it when I noticed the cockpit of the Knight Police I defeated earlier was beginning to open. The officer who was in it got out and looked very angry for some reason, probably because he lost. He suddenly looked over at Kallen, pulled a gun out and pointed it at her.

"Damn Elevens!"

I immediately took action and pulled out the gun Zero gave me earlier today. Not knowing how to use it correctly I did the only thing that I could do with it and threw it at him. The gun flew in the air like a boomerang and whacked the officer in the head. Not knowing what hit him, he began looking at the floor to see what weapon it was. This gave me plenty of time to move and I immediately went over there and punched the officer in the face. The police man obviously didn't know what just hit him and fell to the ground. When I looked down at him he was already knocked out cold. He definitely wasn't the sturdiest of all police officers.

Zero took noticed of this and walked over to where I was.

"That was very amusing Rai…Very interesting. But that is not how you use a pistol you know." Zero pointed out.

"Yeah, I know…But I had to do something and that was the only thing I knew what to do at the moment." I said.

"So you are saying you also forgot how to use a gun as well because of your missing memories?"

"No, it's not that. It is more like I just don't know how to use those kinds of weapons at all."

"But you are able to use the guns of a knightmare frame though."

"That's different though…All I have to do there is push a button for the knightmare to use the weapons."

"That is true…In any case I will be taking these." Zero said as he took back the gun I threw earlier as well as the officer's gun.

* * *

(Third Person View)

At that same time C.C., who was also in the hideout and witnessed the entire event there, was standing on top of a container that let her view the entire warehouse and was speaking out to someone even though no one was near her.

"I just knew he would turn out to be a fascinating guy…He really is good at piloting those things and he sure does have one heck of a right hook…I have to say, your boy sure does know how to keep things interesting…Yes, I know…I will continue to watch over him…Stop pestering me about it…E.E."

* * *

(First Person View)

We had seized the hideout where they were stockpiling refrain. Kallen had already left to go check on her mother who was at the hospital while the rest of the group tried to figure out what to do with all this Refrain.

"Now then, about this Refrain. We seized a considerable amount of it, but what do we do with it now?" Sugiyama said wondering what to do now.

"We dispose of it of course. We should either burn it and bury it, or boil it and pour it down the drain." Inoue suggested.

"But doesn't this stuff have a considerable street price? With this much we could make huge funds for the Black Knights." Tamaki said.

"Hey, even as a joke that's…" Minami said.

"That is right…We are those who use justice. Burn up all the Refrain. We will make a video of it and report it to the public attention." Zero ordered and then left for us to deal with.

"I…I get it already. But, this thing sends you on a trip to your happy past, doesn't it? Maybe…Hey Rai, couldn't this stuff let remember your lost memories?"

My past, I wonder if it would really let me remember? This Refrain…But then I suddenly remembered what it did to Kallen's mother and how Kallen was hurt because of it. No, even if it could bring back my memories that is not the correct way to do it. I am going to do things my way, even if it my memories remain lost forever.

"Stop joking around! You don't seriously think I would use such a thing do you?" I snapped back at him.

"H-Hey, don't get so angry, I was only joking." Tamaki apologetically said.

I just scoffed at him and decided to walk out of the hideout.

When I got outside I saw Ohgi sitting on some falling rocks.

"Hey Rai…" Ohgi called out to me.

"Yes?"

"It is about Kallen's mother…It has been decided that she will have a twenty year sentence in prison."

"Is that so…"

"I have known Kallen since she was just a little child. I also knew her mother, who was very kind and good at cooking as well. In the old days Kallen, her older brother Naoto and I would play together and the three of us would be treated to a wonderful feast for dinner. In order to watch over Kallen that person gave up everything. After all that I guess she finally turned to drugs. Before Britannia invaded it was peaceful here. It was truly peaceful. That is why I don't believe that taking this path was a mistake. I will definitely change Japan, no matter what it takes." Ohgi confidently proclaimed.

"Wait a minute; you said she had an older brother right?"

"Yeah…she did."

"What do you mean she did?"

"Well, we are not one hundred percent sure but back when we were a resistance cell we were led by Kallen's older brother, Naoto. He was a great leader and a good friend of mine. On one of our resistance attacks against Britannia though we were retreating from a losing battle when we lost contact with him."

"You lost contact with him?"

"Yeah, the rest of us thought the Britannian soldiers caught him."

"What happened to him?"

"Well we are not exactly sure if they found him, killed him, or captured him. His body was never found on the battlefield and Britannia never made any official announcement related to him either. But then again, he is half Britannian and he does belong to the noble Stadtfeld family so maybe he used those facts to his advantage to escape. Or maybe his father might have bailed him out somehow and is keeping it a secret to everyone. His father did left for the homeland after his disappearance and hasn't been back ever since. Although, I honestly have no idea."

"But there is still a chance that he is alive somewhere right?"

"Well, there is a small chance that he might be alive somewhere in this world but the rest of us find that hard to believe."

"Hmm…well, I hate to say this but I have to go now. I will be back when Zero has the next operation ready."

"Yeah, you take care of yourself."

"You too."

I then headed on back to Ashford. As I was walking back I began thinking to myself as I looked up towards the night sky. Kallen's mother…and her older brother Naoto. After everything that has happened tonight I think I am starting to understand Kallen's feelings more clearly and all the hardships she has to endure. And…I also wonder where my mother is right now. Does she still care for me? Is she worried about where I am right now? Since I don't have any memories of my mother I have forgotten what it feels like…a mother's love. Also, I wonder if I have any siblings. I can only wonder what feelings like those are like.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	12. Stage 11

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 11: Battle at Narita and the Forest Chase

"Wow, look at that...it's amazing!"

A Black Knights soldier shouted out loud with glitter in his eyes as he saw the knightmares lined up in the Black Knights hideout.

"These are Glasgows right?" Another member questioned.

"No, they are Burais, a Japanese modification." One of the other members corrected him.

"I have never seen these before!"

"Man, the Black Knights has some serious muscle power now!"

"It wasn't easy to team up with the BK you know."

"So that makes us special huh?"

"We are the elites!"

As I watched a group of Black Knight member converse with each other from afar I noticed that the hideout today was very lively and animated. It was said that Kyoto had sent us goods and material to support us after having acknowledged the Black Knight's activities. Also, at the same time it appears that the number of applicants to join the Black Knights also increased, augmenting our forces with a surprising amount of new members and equipment.

I have come out to the hideout today because the Black Knights is going to be holding a battle exercise up in the Narita mountains. Since today was a holiday there were no classes being held I was able to come here without causing any problems at school. As I was walking around the hideout I suddenly heard someone call out to me.

"Rai, come take a look at this!"

I turned around and saw that it was Kallen who was calling out to me. I walked over to where she was standing and I noticed that in front of us was a machine that I have never seen before. Unlike the other frames here this unfamiliar knightmare was painted in a scarlet color and had been put in the back of the hangar. Its silhouette stood out when compared to the sharp outline of the Burai, and its right hand was so big to the extent it was unbalanced. It could almost be called a deformity.

"What kind of knightmare is this?" I asked her.

"This is the very first Japanese-made knightmare called the Guren Mk-II. It is said that its speed per unit time is 1.6 times better than the Britannian army's main unit, the Sutherland. Because its armor was made to correspond with its output its defensive power is also high. It also has a new weapon called the Radiation Wave."

"I see…Will you be the one piloting it?"

"Yes, Zero entrusted it to me…"

Tightly clenching the Guren's key, Kallen looked up at the frame. The light of strong determination dwelled in her eyes.

"Now then, it seems the hiking preparations have all been completed."

I turned to where the voice was coming from and saw Zero slowly coming out from within the darkness. As usual, he is a man who appears abruptly.

"As well as knightmares, we have prepared every kind of firearms and even excavating equipment. This seems like a lot for just a hiking trip." I told him.

"We are going to the Narita mountain range, right?" Kallen asked Zero.

"That is also where the Guren Mk-II will make its debut. I am counting on you, Kallen." Zero said.

"Yes sir!" Kallen happily said.

Once everything was prepared we headed off for the Narita Mountains.

Not much time has passed when Zero took off to take care of things on his end. Even so, it wasn't before too long that Zero sent us a signal from a far away location telling us that everything was in the clear and telling us to start the trek up the Narita Mountains. As we were climbing the others started to question what was going to happen.

"Hey, why doesn't Zero just use the radio on his Burai?" Tamaki asked.

"What do you suppose he meant when he said hiking?" Inoue sarcastically said.

"Um, military training right?" Sugiyama said.

"Only with Zero in another location?" Tamaki called out.

"Maybe we will take a hot spring trip." Minami said jokingly.

"Is that why we brought those excavators? Then hell, I'm all for it." Sugiyama said.

"Kallen, have you heard anything about this?" Tamaki asked Kallen.

"No, I haven't." Kallen replied as she looked away with a saddened look on her face.

"You Ohgi?" Tamaki asked Ohgi next.

"Nope, not a word." Ohgi responded.

"How about you Rai?" Tamaki tried asking me now.

"I haven't heard anything either." I replied back.

"I see. It's because this place is supposedly the main base of the Japanese Liberation Front. I wonder whether we are going to do something, but I can't help but think about what is under that mask. It is hard to trust someone like that, don't you think so?" Tamaki questioned me.

After thinking for a moment I gave him my response.

"It is too late for that now. Now that we are here, we have no choice but to have faith in him…in Zero."

"I already know that. You seem awfully calm about it though…"

It was true that everyone wanted to know who was beneath the mask of Zero. Even I was a little curious about it myself. But then again I figured that Zero was wearing a mask simply because he had some awful scar on his face that he didn't want anyone to see or that he simply didn't want the Britannian Army to see his face for whatever reason.

Although now that I think about it that sort of makes me similar to Zero in that we are both incredibly talented yet wear a 'mask' to make ourselves look like a complete mystery to other people.

Zero seems to be a natural genius along with his ability to gather charisma and information as well as achieve victory against even the mightiest of foes with just rookie forces. As for myself, I am also fairly knowledgeable about several different things and I seem to be able to fend for myself against several types of adversaries, whether with hand to hand combat with my own strength or that of a knightmare frame.

The difference lies in how we 'mask' ourselves. While Zero intentionally wears a literal mask on his face whereas although my face is always seen, it is cloaked behind a 'mask' of amnesia that is, as far as I am aware right now, unintentional.

Suddenly, my eyes widened as I silently gasped to myself when I realized I was in deep thought about comparing myself to Zero. Why in the world was I so focused about that? While I do think it is kind of interesting to compare myself to other people, and while this isn't the first time I have done it I need to stay more focused about the current matter at hand before I get reprimanded by Tamaki and them, even if this is just going to be some joint training exercise for the other members of the Black Knights.

Without being given a clear plan of operations from Zero, the Black Knights arrived at the Narita mountains with all of its forces. When we arrived in the vicinity of the mountaintop we set up the excavation equipment as Zero indicated and then I waited patiently in my Burai. What was going to happen now?

After some time passed I saw Zero arrive in his Burai. He came out and started talking to Ohgi about the situation.

"Are you really going through with this?" Ohgi asked Zero.

"Our opponent is Cornelia. Her forces are said to be the best Britannia has to offer."

"Then why don't we cooperate with the Japan Libertaion Force?"

"What was that? Ohgi, don't you believe in me anymore?"

"What do you mean? I was the one who asked you to be our leader. Don't you remember?"

"Then there is only one answer to give."

"Oh…right." Ohgi replied as he looked away in disappointment.

Suddenly, a huge formation appeared in the sky. Britannian knightmares descended one after another and flooded the base of the mountain from all directions.

"It has begun." Zero said as if he was expecting something like this to happen.

"What the hell? You got to be kidding me! Those troops coming in had this area totally surrounded! There is no way out! We can't possibly win against all these enemies!" Tamaki screamed out.

"Our path of retreat has already been cut off. The only way to survive now is to fight!" Zero valiantly proclaimed.

I see, so it is like that…Like he said before this place is the main base of the JLF, the largest resistance organization in Japan. With the amount of fighting power the Britannian army had gathered here at Narita, it seemed they were going to start a full-blown mop-up operation. It seemed like the Viceroy, Cornelia, was starting to move. Zero must have gotten information about this from somewhere beforehand and decided to intervene in the battle. The fact that I can understand all this means I must have knowledge and possibly even experience military battles like this one. In that case…

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the complaints of the other team members.

"What, we can't fight the Britannians!" Inoue called out.

"Let me get this straight. We are surrounded and you want us to fight them head on?" Tamaki shouted out.

"We will be fighting against Cornelia! Her forces are far stronger than anyone we have ever encountered!" Sugiyama said.

"Correct, it would be a miracle if we somehow win this." Zero calmly said.

"Zero, what are you saying?" Ohgi turned towards Zero.

"Even Messiahs must perform miracles in order to be acknowledged. Therefore, we must produce our own miracle won't we?" Zero proclaimed.

"Now look, pulling this off isn't going to be cheap. The price could be our lives…I knew it was a mistake to make you our leader, it should be me!" Tamaki said as he pulled his gun out and aimed it at Zero.

Zero quickly responded by pulling his own pistol out and pointed it at Tamaki. This caused Tamaki to immediately freeze and stop. A moment later Zero pointed his firearm at the ground.

"Our path of retreat has been cut off. If you think you can win without me then shoot me, someone, anyone!"

Everyone seemed to be surprised be what Zero said…Well, except me. I knew exactly what Zero was trying to do. He is trying to create a circumstance that will stir up the Black Knight soldier's instincts to live; thereby making them tackle the battle ahead with desperation. And the members who survived till the end of this battle wouldn't just grow as soldiers with the experience of battle. If Zero, who had been admired so much up till now, could create such a miracle everyone would want to follow him in the future. A pretty extreme battle tactic if you ask me though.

"Since you've joined the Black Knights you had only two choices, you may live with me…or you may perish with me!" Zero shouted as he challenged the members.

"All right, fine, do whatever you want." Tamaki said.

"We acknowledge you as our leader Zero." Sugiyama proclaimed.

"Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Now everyone, please look at this."

I was sent battlefield data from Zero's Burai.

"The Britannian army is already finishing their encirclement. We will have little time once they have confirmed the location of the JLF's stronghold. However, we will divide Cornelia's forces. We will isolate her from the rest and then capture her. We will create a miracle here!"

Divide their forces? How on Earth was he going to do that? The Black Knights don't have that much fighting power. Zero seemed to have noticed my confusion and walked over towards my Burai to call me out.

"Rai, let me ask you something. What kind of tactic do you think I will use here?" Zero questioned me.

After looking around my surroundings I finally came up with an answer.

"Dropping something down from a high plateau like this place is the classic strategy. I am guessing that those things stuck in the rock face will be used as tools to cause a landslide down the mountain. With the enemy divided and in chaos you can use a surprise attack to capture or kill the enemy commander. For a minority like us to beat a large enemy like Britannia there isn't any other choice of action but this."

"Hmm…There is a strong possibility that you have been in an army or a resistance group of some kind before now, in your past."

"Huh…What do you mean?"

"The strategy you spoke of was logical and reasonable. You know the basics of tactics and you know how war works. That wasn't the ramblings of an ordinary citizen."

I couldn't argue with Zero's words. After our arrival to our current location things concerning battle seem to have poured out one after another inside my thoughts, like the mind of someone who experienced battle.

"I think that the atmosphere of battle that will fill the Narita mountain range might help stimulate your memory. I hope this atmosphere will satisfy you to your heart's content. However, I don't want to see you die yet. That is an order. Now that the enemy has discovered the JLF's headquarters we aim for the moment when they attack. For now, stay on standby inside your Burai."

"Roger." I gave a simple reply.

"Okay Kallen, decide it with this shot." Zero called out to her.

"Yes sir."

Kallen then placed the Guren's right arm on top of the excavator and pushed the spike into the ground. She then started to activate the radiation wave.

"Output confirmed…Wave surger ready and holding…Activating gauntlet now!"

Immediately following that an enormous avalanche of water and earth gushed out of the mountain's surface. A mudslide started to head down from the mountain crushing all the knightmares of both the JLF and the Britannian Military. The mudslide went all the way down the mountain and even crashed its way into the city below.

(Third Person View)

"Oh my, at this rate they will be swept away towards the bottom." Lloyd said as he watched the number of knightmares being defeated increasing on the IFF screen.

"These heat ratings are abnormal! You believe a hydroboltic eruption was artificially induced?" Cecile questioned.

"Impossible…unless someone used Rakshata's Radiate Wave Surger." Lloyd explained.

"Did something happen?" Suzaku questioned from his cockpit.

"But it has nothing to do with us so just relax and continue waiting." Lloyd said.

"Right…" Suzaku responded.

"By the way…did that silver haired kid ever gave you a response about joining the Britannian Military?" Lloyd asked Suzaku.

Suzaku came back out of his cockpit to give Lloyd a clear answer.

"Oh, do you mean Rai? I did get a chance to talk with him at school one day but he told me that he wasn't interested and that he would rather stay in school."

"Well, isn't that a disappointment. And here I already customized one of those new prototypes to fit his fighting standards. I guess Miss Cecile and I are going to have to change it back to its original settings now. Oh, if only we have more capable devicers around to test these prototypes out." Lloyd said displeased.

"It was his decision after all and I wasn't going to force him. Besides, maybe it would be better for him to stay in school anyways."

"Oh; and why is that?" Lloyd asked.

"Well you see…there is this girl that Rai hangs out with at school. If he were to join the military though I fear that he won't be able to see her that much anymore. I would hate for them to be separated because of something that I did."

"So is this person his girlfriend or something?" Cecile questioned him.

"Well, they never made any official statement or anything but I think it is heading in that direction. I believe he would be safer with her than with me anyways." Suzaku proudly said.

(First Person View: Rai)

"Kallen, Rai, follow me." Zero commanded.

"Yes, sir." Kallen obediently replied.

"Understood…" I said as I started to follow Zero's Burai with my own knightmare.

With Zero at the head we dashed and weaved our machines between the slope's trees. Having already lost any chance of escape we charged into the enemy with a desperate thrust. Was this also part of Zero's calculations? Driving his comrades into a last stand, without being concerned about involving the JLF or the city at the base of the mountain? What cool-headed calculations.

"Knightmares are approaching from the east!" Kallen said.

"As estimated, they seem to have unexpectedly lost some of their forces." Zero mused.

Looking at the battle data as we headed towards the isolated Cornelia it seemed there were still enemies left who had been separated into different troublesome places.

"Rai, while we go subdue Cornelia, you hold this group of units back." Zero ordered.

"I understand."

"I will send you some companions. Kobayashi, Okino, Yamasaki. They will accompany you."

"That is unnecessary…We don't have the room to spare excess military forces. I will intercept them with just my own unit." I calmly told Zero.

Ideally, I would want the same number of units as the enemy. No, I would want several times their own numbers. But that is only in a situation where there are sufficient forces on our side to act as support. The divided reserve forces don't exist among the Black Knights who were, from the start, few in numbers. The Knightmares are an especially important military resource. It is natural for a single unit to be placed in multiple major battlegrounds.

"Oh…Is that so." Zero murmured to himself.

"Zero, under no circumstances should a single unit fight alone!" Kallen protested.

"Kallen, this person said that he will intercept them alone. He understands the main point of this mission. And remember, this is the same person you recommended for his amazing battle strategies and knightmare combat abilities."

"But even so…"

"With this he has a chance of succeeding."

"Don't worry Kallen, I will be fine. I can handle this." I reassured her.

"…Then promise me that you will come back alive okay?"

"Roger that."

"Go Rai, we will see each other again after this battle!" Zero said as he, Kallen and the others went on ahead.

"Yeah, until then…"

After making my frame turn around, I exited from the surrounding trees. There were several other infantry here as back up. But I wouldn't be able to depend on them for this. The enemy consisted of five Sutherlands. However, I have no choice but to do this. Although, if I use my surroundings to my advantage in this circumstance, I may be able to do something even if my frame is inferior.

Let's see, my Burai's weapons consists of two slash harkens, an assault rifle, one stun tonfa on its left arm, and if I really need to, I could even use my knightmare's fists if I have to. Right now I have three choices at my disposal. Should I attack cautiously and diminish them with certainty, should I attack at once and finish them quickly, or should I lure the enemy away to where the backup forces are?

After giving it some thought I decided that I can't give the enemy any time to think. I took aim at the first frame I saw and fired my assault rifle immediately. My bullets dug into my enemy's metal frame but I couldn't destroy it. In order to quickly move toward a tree shielded area I ran down the mountain. Immediately hiding myself among the trees I let the chasing Sutherland go past me. I then took my Burai out of the tree which it had been hiding behind and aimed at the back of the passing Sutherland. The enemy pilot noticed me at the last second but it was already too late. With a direct hit from the assault rifle bullets, the Sutherland went tumbling down the slope. Well, that's one down.

I then moved my Burai and returned to my original position. This time the enemy didn't immediately chase after me after having one of their units destroyed. First they would have to make sure they were ready. Now then, what should my next action be?

The enemy had become wary and taken their distance. But this situation could be undone with just one turn of the assault rifle. While facing and firing bullets at the enemy Sutherlands I quickly backtracked and headed towards the area where the back-up forces were. Taking my invitation the Sutherlands chased after me. And then, after passing the area where the back-up forces were lying in wait the Sutherlands were concentrated by gunfire and two of them were destroyed this time. Okay, that's two more down. Just two remaining.

The surviving Sutherlands tried to withdraw from this area, but…I braced myself and prepared for my next action. I have three choices at my disposal. Should I attack cautiously and diminish them with certainty, should I attack at once and finish them quickly, or should I lure the enemy away back to where the backup forces are?

The same strategy won't work twice and I would be at a disadvantage here if this dragged on. I made my Burai charge forward and attack. The enemy noticed me coming and started to fire off their assault rifles. They managed to aim quite accurately at me. I noticed that small chips of metal of the outer body being torn off my Burai. However, I used the trees and rocks to fill up the space between us. I quietly slipped up to one of the Sutherland's chest and hit him directly with my stun tonfa. I then suddenly realized that it wasn't finished off yet. My step-in had been too shallow.

While holding its ground, the Sutherland fired its Slash Harkens at my frame. The harkens managed to hit my right side and separated my frame's right arm but I don't think the damage was too critical. I can still fight back. After I somehow managed to reorganize myself, I fired back my own Slash Harkens and finally managed to get a direct hit on him as the harkens went into the Sutherland's shoulders. I then used the harkens to drag the enemy unit face down on the ground. The Sutherland was finally defeated. Okay, now there should be only one unit left to take out. In order to destroy him though, I will have to settle this in one blow.

The distance between me and the enemy was small. At this distance my stun tonfa might be effective. I will be at a disadvantage if I go defensive. I have to keep attacking and put the pressure on them. I went right up to the Sutherland without giving it a chance to do anything and slammed my Burai's stun tonfa right into the Sutherland's chest. With the damage having reached its power unit, the Sutherland fell backwards but not before throwing something into the air. The Sutherland then hit the ground as it gave off explosive flames. I then looked up to see what the Sutherland threw and realized it was a Chaos Mine. Crap, there is no way that my Burai will be able to get out of the way in time. I will have to eject and leave the machine behind in order to save myself.

While I didn't like the idea of letting my Burai unit go to waste like this I knew there was no other option and I then I ejected from my knightmare. I then watched as the Chaos Mine activated and needles sprouted out from it. The needles then rained down on my Burai and it eventually exploded from taking too much damage. My cockpit eventually stopped at a safe location in the forest where there was no enemy units around. I then began to wonder what I should do next.

Well, I did my job. I defeated the five Sutherlands that were in our way and we only lost my Burai. I guess I will just sit here in my cockpit and await further orders from Zero. After all, it's up to the rest of the guys to finish this operation. I wonder how everyone else is doing.

I open my mouth and let out a deep sigh and I lay back in my cockpit's seat. Even though it has only been forty minutes since I have last heard anything of the current situation it seems like I have been waiting forever to hear anything new. I wonder if should just leave the remains of my knightmare's cockpit and go help the others. Although, I don't know how useful I will be without my knightmare and I am not really familiar with how to use those firearms. What should I do now?

Just as I began to wonder about what I should do next I suddenly received a message from Zero that was sent to all the Black Knight members.

"To all forces…Head to our escape site…We are withdrawing!" Zero said over the radio.

Hmmm…we are withdrawing now? What a coincidence. Though, without my knightmare frame I will have to walk all the way back to our rendezvous point on foot. Hopefully I won't run into anyone from the Britannian army or the JLF forces.

I then exited the cockpit and abandoned what remained of my Burai unit as I started to head for the Black Knight's exit route.

As I was jogging down the disorganized path before me my legs suddenly started to slow down, causing me to walk for a little bit before stopping completely. I didn't really understand why my body did that. I was just standing there now, with my eyes staring down at the dirt ground below me.

I took a moment to look around my surroundings and I noticed that there was no one else around and it was all quiet, maybe even too quiet. I then realized what this feeling I was having, it was isolation. Usually I was always with at least one other person but being here on this unfamiliar mountain and being separated from all my allies without a clear sense of direction, it made me feel uneasy, like I needed to be more cautious. After all our enemies could be anywhere and I was severely unarmed at the moment.

Speaking of which I was surprised that I haven't run into anyone yet considering the distance that I have covered since moving away from my unit. I figured I would have already met up with some of the other members of the Black Knights by now.

I then got that same eerie feeling again as I gazed around the lone trees and rocks. It was way too quiet here; a dead silence filled the mountain and forests. It was starting to make me feel nauseous. I didn't like this feeling I had inside me so I quickly took off and went into a sprint, hoping to get away from this place as quickly as possible.

As I dashed my way through the wilderness I pulled a map of the area from my pocket and took a quick look at it. It appears that there is still some distance between me and the location of our escape route. Hopefully I will make it in time and get these strange feelings out of me soon. Maybe I should quicken up my pacing.

However, it became difficult to speed along the mountain. There was no real clear path or trail to follow, the terrain was so jagged and crooked, and there were several trees and rocks in my way that made it complex to run through.

Eventually, as I was hurrying along with my map held out in front of me, my right foot suddenly got caught in something and my whole body began to fall forward as I crashed into the ground. The map that was previously clutched in my hands now slowly started to descend towards the dirt until it landed on my head and covered my face. I quickly removed the item from my head before taking my next course of action. As my body laid flat on the ground I turned my head around to see that my right foot was caught in a loose tree root that was sprouted out of the land.

"Tch…How careless of me…" I whispered to myself.

As I slowly picked myself up I thought I suddenly heard something. It sounded like something was ticking. But I didn't have a watch or anything like that on me. Wait a minute; now that my hearing is more attuned to it sounds more like a countdown for something.

"Ugh, oh no…!"

As soon as I realized what the noise was I instinctively got back down on the ground and fortified myself for what was about to happen. A few seconds after the final tick there was a small explosion close to where I was at. I wasn't directly caught in the blast but the force of the detonation caused my body to be flung senselessly sideways.

A few moments after that I found myself laying facedown on the ground again. My eyes were diluted and my mind felt disorganized for a few moments. Once I snapped myself back into reality I began to wonder what just happened, all the while coughing.

"'Cough'…What was that explosion just now…'Cough'…Was it from a bomb or landmine perhaps?"

As I tried to go through all the possibilities in my mind I suddenly heard a voice coming from somewhere in the forest.

" _ **Interesting, so that is how you defended yourself. Still, I wonder how you will dodge the next one!"**_

I didn't understand. Just hearing the voice itself and knowing that I was suddenly not alone in these woods caused my whole body to freeze over for a moment. My body felt frightened, my legs were wobbling, the voice itself scared me, and couldn't comprehend why. I felt like I was about to experience something that only occurs in nightmares, only this time this wasn't a dream. Still, I somehow gathered the courage to respond and yelled back out to the trees surrounding me, with obviously signs of fear conveyed in my tone of voice.

"W-Who's there…Where are you?!"

However, I didn't get a reply, at least not the kind I was expecting. Instead, I was about to be greeted by something flying right towards my head. It was something with a spherical-like shape to it and was about the size of a baseball being thrown at about eighty miles per hours. Even with fear holding me back I was still able to tilt my head and body enough to avoid contact with the baseball like object and it flew right past me. Instead, the object hit a tree but for some reason instead of falling to the ground the object staid latched onto the tree. A few seconds later I heard that same ticking noise from before coming from that object stuck to the tree. Soon enough there was another explosion that gave off a pink flash of light and the tree came tumbling down. So it was a bomb after all, and judging from the light it gave off it appears to have been made with sakuradite

After seeing that display there was only one thing going on in my mind…I have to get away now! I know that if I stay here I am as good as dead. As soon as I shook the fear out of my legs I used them to carry me as far away as possible from here.

I continued to run through the forest, with explosions going off behind me as I used the trees and rocks of the terrain to shield myself. I almost felt like I was running through the front lines of a battlefield. As I moved along I kept swaying my head left and right, trying to locate the owner of that voice. I knew that person had to be somewhere close by, throwing these explosive obstacles in almost every direction.

They clearly had the advantage over me. They could see me and I couldn't locate them. They could easily launch attacks at a distance while I had no way to fight back. And worst of all they have a reason to attack while I had no clue as to why. Darn it, if only I how the power to strike back somehow. I hated feeling so powerless like this. It just annoys me.

Still, I knew what I had to do though. If I could just regroup with everyone else at the escape route then maybe whoever is throwing explosives at me will leave me alone, I can at least hope so anyways. I still kept going with everything I had.

However, just when I was getting closer to my destination I suddenly felt something spread throughout my body, almost like a rapid virus. And that virus was called exhaustion. I was so focused on everything else around me that I wasn't aware at all that my body was slowly breaking down, especially after everything that has happened today. My lungs were beat, my legs started to hurt and I could feel myself slowly down.

"N-No…not here…" That was all I could manage to say as I started to kneel down and tried to catch my breath.

I was so close too. I still had at least another mile to trudge through before I made it to my destination. But I felt too fatigued and tired to even move. In fact, I haven't felt like this ever since that one time…Yeah, back when I first arrived at Ashford Academy and when I met everyone…Everyone…

I then suddenly remembered something.

 _"…Then promise me that you will come back alive okay?"_

 _"Go Rai, we will see each other again after this battle!"_

I could hear Kallen's and Zero's voices in my head.

"Yeah, that's right…They are expecting me to come back aren't they? And not just them either, there are people back in the settlement waiting for me too isn't there?"

For a moment I could see the image of Kallen's face and Zero's mask in my mind, as well as the faces of those in student council. They are all waiting for me, even though none of them are aware of the situation I am in right now. Still, I can't let any of them down. I must…

With newfound strength building up inside me, I slowly felt myself beginning to rise again. These fears I was having were slowly starting to drift away as I formed a new conviction in my mind.

As everything continued to explode around me I slowly opened my eyes and looked straight ahead with a renewed purpose rekindled in my mind."

"I just have to keep moving forward with everything I have. That is all."

And after having spoken those words out loud, I rushed forward and never stopped.

With a firm goal in mind I continued to hurry on. I could tell I was close to my goal. I could see the exit was just right ahead. There was a wide opening between a pair of trees that led to something that at least resembled a trail. It even seemed to have a holy light shining forth from it. Or maybe that was because the evening sun was coming down in that direction. I didn't know.

At the same time I noticed that as I got closer to my escape route the number of explosive going off slowly started to diminish until there was absolute silence once again. I wonder; is whoever after me aware of where I am heading or are they just simply running out of ammunition. I was hoping for the latter.

For some reason I decided to stop and turn around for a moment. I stared at the background behind me and noticed someone or something. I couldn't see that well because there was a huge distance between us but I thought I saw a shadow like figure standing with their back up against a tree. Is that person the one behind all of this? They were staring right in my direction and without warning that person raised their left arm and held it up right in front of themselves. Suddenly, the next thing I knew the back of their hand started to glow and gave off an intense light. It was so bright my whole line of vision was caught into it.

The next thing I knew it felt like I was standing in nothing but a room of light. Where was I…What was happening? Before I could think too much about it though I suddenly felt something hit me inside my head.

"Ugh, what is this? Why does my head hur…Uwahh!"

My body cringed at the sudden pain I felt and I fell down on one knee. It felt like something was forcing itself to come out of my brain. And then I saw something, like I had just taken a quick peek into the past as I gazed at the scenery from up high.

I saw myself standing out in the middle of a torn down area. The place looked like a mess, with junk scattered about everywhere. It looked very reminiscent to that of the ghettos in Area 11 or maybe even something similar to that place I had a vision of before. However, that wasn't all I noticed. I saw that I wasn't alone. There was someone standing next to me. But I couldn't really describe that person because their whole body looked like a black silhouette to me. Not only that, but it appears that was a third person there as well. Although, I couldn't really describe them either other than that person was tall and had a silhouette cloaking them too. One thing I could tell though was that the tall person seemed to be standing in opposition to me and the person next to me.

Soon though, the image began to fade into the light and for a moment I thought I heard someone call out to me.

" _Watch out…You mustn't…!"_

"Wait…Don't go…!" I desperately replied back as I stretched my arm into the light.

Soon I felt like I have just woken up from a dream. I found myself standing in the forest, with my right arm still stretched out as if I was trying to reach out to someone. Not only that, but I appeared to have a shocked yet worried look on my face.

"What…What just happened to me…?"

I was still perplexed by what just transpired. What was with that light, what was with that image I saw, and lastly whose voice was that and why does it sound so familiar? There were so many questions surrounding my mind that I didn't know what to think.

Suddenly though I felt a warning alarm go off in my mind.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I almost forgot."

I quickly glanced back down at the tree that mysterious figure was leaning on before. However, there was no one there now. It seems like whoever was there before has just vanished without a trace. Well, whatever the case I didn't want to be here anymore either and decided to leave the forest area as well.

I found myself standing on a small road resembling that of a trail. Yes, this is the escape route that the Black Knights planned to use after our fight in Narita. I decided to follow this path all the way down to the bottom of the mountain, where I finally met back up with the rest of the Black Knights members.

As I approached our rendezvous point I saw all the surviving members cheering and celebrating what was for us, a victory against Britannia. Exhaustion suddenly caught back up to me so I decided to just blend in with some of the other bland looking members and took a ride with them on our way back to the hideout. I also asked them what happened to the climax of the Narita battle. At this point I couldn't even move another muscle.

By employing a surprise attack and utilizing the geography to our advantage, Zero succeeded in cutting through the divided Britannian forces, but we seemed to have come short of harming Cornelia herself. The fruit of this battle was a victory against the Britannian army on a scale unheard of till now. The name of the Black Knights will rise even higher. However, the JFL, the largest resistance organization in Japan, had received a huge blow. Put in perspective, the result was merely a draw due to injuries on both sides. But, a win was a win for the Black Knights. That's what I felt anyways.

Still, I will just be glad when I get to go back home to Ashford. Too much stuff has happened to me today. I felt like I might have learned something about myself today yet at the same time the number of questions increases as well. I just hope that I will be able to get some rest tonight.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	13. Stage 12

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 12: Meeting with Kyoto

" _You desire it…You wish to have…don't you? That is why you seek strength…Very well, I shall give you a piece of my power along with permission to...But in exchange for this gift you must…is that clear? Not only that, but you must be willing to accept the responsibilities and the consequences of your actions from here on…How you use this power is completely up to you…So, what will you choose to do…?"_

* * *

After classes were finished for the day I steadily headed for my room out in the clubhouse. I wasn't able to concentrate on any of my classes at all today. Actually, I haven't really been to focus on anything lately. At least not ever since what happened at Narita. I was too busy thinking about things I couldn't comprehend nor were they things that a textbook could provide answers for. Not only that, but since then I've been having dreams about a voice saying things to me. It was the same voice that told me to 'watch out' and that 'I mustn't' something. However, none of the dreams ever made sense because I only heard half of their sentences, so I wasn't for sure what they were trying to tell me or say.

I was at a loss for what I should do.

When I got to my room I noticed that there was something on my bed. I went over there and saw a peculiar black colored phone along with a note. I began to read what the note said.

" _This special phone is for you Rai. From now you will be able to contact anyone in the Black Knights including myself. Make sure you destroy this note whenever you are finished reading it._

 _From, Zero_

So, Zero got me a phone huh. Well wasn't that nice of him. But I have to wonder, how did Zero even manage to get on school grounds without being seen and even more so managed to get into my room. Most of the time I have it locked up. Sometimes I think Zero has too many ways of getting around. Oh well, maybe I should go hang out at the Black Knights hideout to help get my mind off things for a while.

I placed the phone into my pocket and put my black knights uniform into a bag so no one would see it.

* * *

I then went out to the hideout but after spending some time I found that there wasn't really much for me to do there. All I saw were people working and fixing damaged equipment or I only saw new recruits gossiping. After I started to regret coming here today I was about to leave when I heard someone call out to me.

"How does it feel being an ally of justice?"

I turned around and saw that it was Zero greeting me with a question. I decided to respond back with an answer.

"You judge evil regardless of whether it'd be a Britannian or an Eleven. The popularity this gives you with the people is certainly good. However, will the day come when all this leads to Britannia's defeat, I wonder?"

"If we simply used power to get what we want, we would be no different from Britannia's tyranny. We are doing this because we are people who have the power to rebel. As such, we have to use it in such a way that everyone will understand it as justice."

"Hmm…I think I understand."

"I thought you would."

It was too troublesome to think too deeply about it.

"In any case, I guess I will try to do my best…As an ally of justice, right?"

"Please do so. I expect much from you. Now, please come to my office. There are some things I wish to discuss with you about."

Zero then turned around and coaxed me to follow him with his right hand. I decided to go him and we both entered his personal office.

Once inside, Zero then sat down on his chair and offered me a seat next to C.C. who was here as well but I declined and decided to just stand. I didn't really feel like sitting next to her.

"What did you need me for?" I asked him.

"It's nothing big. I just wanted to personally hear your account of the last battle." Zero responded.

"Oh, you mean the battle at Narita?" I said with indifference. I would rather forget about that.

"We were surprised at how well you battled with only one knightmare. You managed to survive and return despite the odds." C.C. was the one who spoke this time.

"Rai, you have done well. Thanks to your efforts, we managed to reduce the possible damage to the Black Knights by roughly forty percent." Zero proudly said.

"Oh, I was only thinking of doing my best…That's all." I truthfully answered as I began to rub my hand against the back of my head.

"There is no need for you to be modest. You managed to defeat your enemies, attract their attention, and allowed our main army to break through by taking on the role of being a diversion. You piloting abilities are excellent, but I also highly value your good judgment. I seem to have unexpectedly obtained an excellent subordinate. I am quite grateful to Kallen for bringing you to me." Zero said as he brought his arms together in a grandiose manner.

"Did you call me here just to say this?'

"You have a problem with that?"

"Well, there are other things I could be doing instead of listening to you praising me."

"Like walking around an endless maze looking for your memories?" C.C. joked around with me.

"Huh, what do you mean by that?" I said as I turned towards her.

"Just ignore her. Still, the data of your piloting abilities, by itself, certainly verifies your words on the matter." Zero said as he brushed C.C.'s comment away.

Zero then made a nearby screen display the data of my battle's development from his computer.

"You were constantly taking the initiative, causing disturbances, and defeating as many as you could. Even Britannia's soldiers weren't able to make you easily go down." C.C. praised me.

"That is an overstatement of my deeds. The movements of Cornelia's soldiers were magnificent. I cannot in any way be compared to them." I calmly answered.

" _Besides…You guys don't even know what happened to me after that…I couldn't do anything…"_ I silently thought to myself as I looked away and shot a glance at the floor.

As I did that I didn't noticed that for a second C.C. shifted her eyes and glared at me.

"The difference in knightmare frames was also great. If you had been given a frame of equal quality, I truly believe your respective abilities would have shown."

Zero's words right now were flattering towards me. I just shrugged my shoulders in response.

"Oh yes, that's right…there is something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Which is…?"

"I've gotten into contact with Kyoto." Zero said.

"You mean the group who recently been giving supplies to us?"

"Yes, that's right. It appears they want to meet with me in person tomorrow. Are they inviting us in order to ascertain what kind of people we are? Rai, if you were in Kyoto's position, how would you face me?"

"Let me think…If I were in the other party's position, I would first make someone remove your mask. Who wouldn't be interested in seeing that?"

"That's right…I agree as well, naturally. Of course, there is no way I can comply with such a demand."

Even though Zero was the leader of the Black Knights, his true face has never been revealed to any of us. It was unlikely that he will show it to Kyoto.

"It is unfortunate having a face that can't be shown, huh?"

"Yes, it sure is. Oh yes, there is something I would like to ask you before I let you go. How do the Black Knights appear to you?"

I think I should speak honestly here.

"Speaking in terms of the organization itself, it still has some ways to go. After all, this group is nothing more than a miscellaneous collection of various people."

"What a coincidence. I was thinking the exact same thing. But soon, I will turn this group into a true fighting army. I promise you that. Well, you are excused now."

And with that I bowed my head and left the room. I then headed out for the hanger to see what was going on there. After walking randomly for a while I suddenly noticed that right in front of me was the Guren Mk-II, with its damaged right arm. It was Kallen's personal unit. I heard from some other members that during the battle at Narita the Guren fought against a white knightmare that have been giving the Black Knights trouble for some time now. In the middle of the fight Kallen's frame fell off a cliff that collapsed and that was how the arm got damaged. Still, an original Japanese knightmare, with a special feature called the radiation wave. But the engineering and technology behind it was so sophisticated that the model wasn't suitable for mass production.

"What's wrong…Is it the Guren that you want?"

I suddenly saw C.C. appear from behind the Guren's leg. She began teasing me with her words.

"When you think of the Burai, its performance is so poor that it can't even be compared to this thing." C.C. continued on.

"Yeah, that's true."

"How about it? If you want it so much, I could negotiate with Zero and get him to give it to you."

"R-Really…?"

Certainly, it was an appealing idea. If I had this knightmare I would definitely be able to fight more effectively. The Guren was definitely a desirable knightmare. But it was Kallen's unit. I couldn't just take it away from her.

"This unit is the so called pride of Japan, as it is, having had all Japanese engineering at its finest focused on building it. Kallen, who has the determination to change Japan, is more suitable for it than me."

I could say that I knew that much.

"Then, is the reason for your desire of a new knightmare because you think that you wouldn't be able to stand up against that White Knightmare with just a Burai? Or maybe it's actually because…"

"Or because what?"

What was this woman hinting at now, or was she just messing with me again?

"Oh, it was nothing. Even if you don't have a machine to pilot now, don't slack around. For now, I will tell Zero that you only want the newest model."

"Uh yes, please do. I want to be able to fight better next time."

"Hmph…Don't expect too much. What you get will depend on Kyoto. And don't worry, you will become stronger…much stronger…in due time."

"Huh…?"

Leaving me with those words, C.C. left the hangar and headed for Zero's office. Once again, I was left speechless by that woman's words and their meanings about whatever she was hinting at. I then noticed that it was getting late so I decided to leave and go home.

* * *

The next morning as soon as I got up I received a phone call from Zero. Apparently, he wanted me to help him with something. Since I didn't have classes today I decided to go assist him with whatever he needed. I hurriedly got my things together and arrived at the hideout to present myself. After entering Zero's room, he welcomed me in.

"Rai, I want you to come with me on my visit to Kyoto."

"If it's to go along with the rest of the executive members to the meeting then…"

"No, I want you to help me make some preparations before the actual meeting."

"Do I assume that strategic operation is also a secret from the rest of the executive members?"

"Something like that…It is something that I need to do myself, but just in case I want you there to assist me. I need a quick-witted person like you who can withdraw by himself as soon as the business is completed."

"You overestimate me too much."

"You shouldn't say that. You are quite the useful person. I have an eye for these things."

"Is that so?"

It would be rash to think that he is relying on me already. Rather, this is a test for me.

* * *

We went to the meeting place with the contact from Kyoto. When Zero and I arrived he convinced the contact very easily and we snuck into the bowels of the NAC's Mt. Fuji Plant from within the car. This time, it was serving as the location for the meeting between the leading figures of Kyoto and the Black Knights. The "NAC" is the economic group in Area 11 that cooperates with Britannia. In reality it was Kyoto, the organization that supported all the resistance groups in Area 11. I then decided to quietly talk with Zero while we were inside the building.

"Nevertheless, how did you talk that guy into it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean that contact guy who guided us here. He accepted us so readily…"

"I had already talked him into letting us pass beforehand. I have co-operators everywhere in Area 11."

"I see…"

Really…somehow it didn't make sense. If that was true, then why was it kept secret from the rest of the Black Knights executives? Still, everything until now had happened too smoothly for it to just be sudden behavior on the contact's part. I felt as if Zero was trying to cover up something that happened in that time.

"But this is as far as my preparations go. If they see any intruders from this point on, they will shoot first without asking questions."

" _You don't have to worry about that. I had a similar exercise like that last week up in the mountains…"_ I silently said under my breath.

"So, what should I do…What's my task?" I continued to say.

"I'm going to hijack and board one of the knightmares guarding the meeting place. In order to do that, I need you to take care of the security system's surveillance while I act by using these."

Zero then handed me a key along with some capsules.

"You mean by knocking them out with sleeping gas?"

"That's right…You catch on quickly."

Zero then took out a map. Sketched in detail on it were the Mt. Fuji plant's interior design and surveillance network.

"Having already snuck inside, it should be easy for us to achieve our objective. The problem is…"

"After that whether I can successfully run away or not afterwards will be dependent on my so-called quick wittedness right?"

"That is correct."

"What about you? You say that you will be going to the meeting place aboard a knightmare, but…"

"That won't be a problem. All the conditions will have been cleared then."

"More of your preparations, is it?"

"Well, something like that. Now, let's begin. Wait for my signal."

* * *

Acting separately from Zero, I figured out a blind spot in the surveillance network based on the base map. Nonetheless, Zero's actual actions couldn't be hidden from the sensors. Even if he can manage to cut his way through with his onsite preparations, I would have to gain control of the surveillance's control room at that precise moment in order for him to succeed. Putting on the clothes of one of the plant's workers over my Black Knights uniform just in case, I waited for Zero's signal. After he sent the signal, I hastily set out on my mission.

I casually combed down the various hallways as I made my way to the control room. I made sure to make myself look as natural as possible by making it look like I was patrol for them. Even so, it was still nerve-wracking for me. One wrong step and my cover would be completely exposed.

Thankfully though I was able to make it to the surveillance room without arousing too much trouble. I then brought out the keys Zero gave me and then thought something for a moment.

" _Still, how in the world did Zero manage to acquire these keys…Ah, whatever…"_

I then inserted the key into the door and found it fitted in perfectly. Next, I turned the key slowly and silently cracked the door open. I peered inside and noticed that none of them noticed my actions yet. Instead, they were all staring at the screens in front of them with bored expression on their faces.

" _Good, now all I have to do is…"_

I then took a small capsule and tossed it into the room. As soon as I saw it land and go off I quickly closed the door. After that I immediately heard people yelling and screaming on the other side of the door. Soon enough everything became silent on the other side.

I decided to open up the door again and I saw that the smoke created from the capsule was slowly subsiding. I advanced into the room and saw all the guards and workers inside were now all snoozing thanks to the gas capsule. I then checked the surveillance monitors and sure enough I the image of Zero entering the knightmare hangar appeared on the screen. It seems like I made it just in time. After that I received a message from Zero.

"I am finished here. You can withdraw now." Zero said on his communicator.

"Yes, I understand."

"Hmm…You have done well. Better than I expected. I will be cutting off communications for a while. Make sure to get away successfully."

"Roger that."

Okay, now it was time for the hard part, getting out of here. The first thing I did though was close the door to the control room and locked it back up. After that I took out the map for the building. As the center for the security guards, this place was within the very depths of the plant. Would I be able to get out without causing any uproars; I wonder? After carefully choosing the most lightly guarded route, I successfully passed through several passages. However, just as I was getting sure I was going to get out safely I suddenly came across a pair of security guards. They both looked at me for a moment before nodding to each other and then came up to confront me.

"Hey, who are you, are you new here or something?" One of them asked me.

"Huh, oh uh…Yeah, I am. I just recently got assigned here." I replied back.

"I see…So, where is your partner?"

"My…partner?" I asked the question back with a confused look.

When I did that the one who asked the question formed a grin on his face while the other one slowly placed his hand in his pocket, probably getting ready to pull out his weapon.

"Yeah, that's right. We always go out on patrols in groups of two. Even newbies should know that. Also, there has been some intel going around and saying that there might be an intruder in the plant. Say, you wouldn't happen know anything about this intruder now, would you?!"

He looked straight at me when he said that. Crap, this isn't good. I have to come up with something fast, and I need to do it smoothly too. After hesitating for a moment I looked behind the pair of guards and noticed a three way cross intersection down the hallway. A plan suddenly formed in my mind.

"W-Wait a moment…Give me a second to explain myself! I have certified identification on me. Just let me show you first and then everything will be clear."

I then reached my hand into my pocket and grabbed something. I then held it clutched in my hand for a few moments.

"Well, let us see it already!" The guards shouted impatiently.

"Very well…Here it is!"

I replied as I raised my hand in the air and then threw a capsule on the ground. Immediately after that I held my left hand over my mouth and quickly shoved my way past the guards who were currently disorganized by the sudden smoke that appeared from the capsule and was covering the area.

Once I approached the intersection I turned around and noticed that one of the guards was already on the floor passed out. The other one though jumped out of the smog and charged towards me while beginning to pull his weapon out of his pocket.

"Identification my ass…I am going to get ya, you little!" The guard angrily shouted.

I responded by pulling my capsule out and flung it on the floor in front of me, while making sure the smoke will cover the intersection. I then chose a pathway and scurried down the hallway to my right.

I had a sixty-six percent chance that the guard would choose one of the other two hallways. I entered a nearby door and crouched down for a moment to try and hear his footsteps. Soon I heard his footsteps heading straight in my direction. I felt troubled for a moment as the footsteps got closer but right when they were at my door they went past and continued on down. I took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief.

" _Lucky for him he chose the right hallway…Lucky for me though he didn't open up the door."_

I stood back up and then looked at the pathway before me. Zero already had a suggested escape route already lined out for me but it looks like there are going to be guards swarming in that direction now. Trying to escape that way has become increasingly difficult. For the time being, I should look for an alternate escape route.

(Third Person View)

While Rai was trying to figure a way out of the place Zero, Kallen, Ohgi and Tamaki arrived at the meeting place with Kyoto. When they got there they saw a figure sitting behind a tinted glass with two guards standing on opposite sides of the glass.

"I apologize for not showing my face but Zero, your face is hidden as well. Unfortunately, I can't allow this. To trust you, I must know who you are. Therefore, you will show me your face!" The man said as he pointed his cane outward signaling four Burai units to appear.

They all had their assault rifle aimed at Zero and the others. Kallen stepped out in front of Zero with her arm stretched out in front of him.

"Please wait, Zero has given us power and victory. That should be…"

The man suddenly shouted out to silence her.

"Silence…Which one of you is Ohgi?"

"That's me." Ohgi said as he stepped forward.

"You will remove Zero's mask." The man ordered.

Ohgi hesitated at first but then firmly walked over to Zero.

"I'm sorry Zero…but we need a reason to put our faith in you too. So help us to put our trust in you."

Ohgi then removed Zero's mask but all three of them were surprised to see C.C.'s face under the mask.

"A woman is Zero!" Tamaki blurted out.

"C.C., are you really Zero?" Ohgi asked her.

"That's impossible! She's always standing next to Zero whenever they are together." Kallen protested.

"You there, girl, is this true?" The man asked C.C.

"It's true, I am not Zero."

"So, you are not Japanese?"

"Correct, clan chief of Kyoto…Taizo Kirihara."

The two guards then became surprised when they heard that.

"Anyone who can identify him must die!" One of them said as he pulled his gun out.

"Especially someone who isn't Japanese!" The other said as he ordered the Burais to attack.

"Hey, hold on…I am not part of this!" Tamaki screamed as he put his hands up.

One of the Burai then attacked two Burais with its Slash Harkens and knocked the Burai right next to it down with its Stun Tonfa. The Burai then moved over to where Kirihara was sitting.

"You are soft, and your methods and thinking are outdated. That is why you will never win." Zero said as he came out from the cockpit of the Burai.

"W-When did you…" The guard then pointed his gun at Zero but the other guard stopped him from firing.

"Hold on…he can fire at us with that remote. Everyone stay back, don't make a move!" The other guard said as he noticed that Zero had his finger on top of a remote.

Zero then walked over to where Kirihara and the guards were at.

"Taizo Kirihara…founder of Kirihara Industry which has a monopoly on Sakuradite mining. Formerly a key actor of the Kururugi Regime. However, when Japan fell you dodged the tribunals by collaborating with the colonial rulers. Commonly known as Kirihara the Traitor. In reality you are one of the leaders of the six houses of Kyoto who support resistance groups throughout Japan. A double agent, how cliché."

"Show some respect you swine!" One of the guards shouted.

"Stop!" Kirihara ordered.

"It is as you guessed though…I am not Japanese!"

Kallen, Ohgi and Tamaki were surprised to hear that detail.

"Is he serious…no wonder he never showed his face." Tamaki commented.

"If you are not Japanese then why do you fight for Japan…What is it you want?" Kirihara asked Zero.

"The destruction of Britannia." Zero calmly answered.

"And so do you believe that this is possible…That you can do it?"

"I can because I must. I have reasons which compel me to do it. I'm glad I am dealing with you." Zero then took his mask off and revealed himself as Lelouch in front of Kirihara. Kallen and the others couldn't see him though. Kirihara was surprised to see Lelouch's face.

"It has been a long time, Lord Kirihara."

"You…is it really you? It has been eight years since that family received you as a hostage."

"Yes, and I appreciate you taking care of me then."

"If I hadn't come tonight were you planning to take a messenger as hostage?"

"Not at all…I came to ask for your help. That is all I am seeking from you."

"So the flower planted eight years ago has finally bloomed." The man then laughed in joy about who he was dealing with now and then called out to Ohgi.

"Ohgi!" Kirihara yelled out.

"Yes, what is it Kirihara?" Ohgi asked.

"This man is a true enemy of Britannia. His face must remain hidden for vital reasons. I urge you to follow Zero and I guarantee that if you do we will assist you generously with intelligence and strategic support.

"We thank you." Ohgi answered.

"I am truly thankful to you Lord Kirihara. And about that knightmare I asked for…"

"It is on its way right now along with its creator. They will be at your hideout any day now."

"Good, and there is one last thing I need you for." Zero then walked over to Kirihara and handed him a tube that contained a blood sample.

"Whose blood is this?" Kirihara questioned Zero.

"It belongs to a very useful subordinate of mine. I need to know whose family he belongs to. With the resources and technology you have it shouldn't be hard to find results."

"I see, I will make it gets done…but Zero, are you planning to embark on the path of blood?"

"Indeed, if that is my destiny." Zero said as he put his mask back on.

(First Person View)

I cautiously went further inside the room. Looking around once again, I saw that the room had a simple yet fairly nice appearance. Was it used for visiting guests? It had a large living room, with a huge window that displayed a view of the massive Sakuradite plant that covered Mt. Fuji's slopes. There was one person there looking out the window. A dark haired girl, wearing a traditional kimono that was reminiscent to that of a shrine maiden.

"What's going on? Things seem a little noisy out there…"

The girl must have heard me coming because she then turned around and found me standing in the room.

"Oh, and who are you?" The girl asked me.

What should I do now? I been spotted again and I don't have any more sleeping capsules on me.

"Ah, that collar…I know! You are one of the Black Knights, aren't you?"

Seeing this as an opportunity I took action.

"Huh…oh, uh, yes. Yes I am."

She seemed to have seen underneath my work clothes and noticed my Black Knights uniform.

"Then you must be here because of today's meeting, right? Could it be that you are an envoy from Zero-sama?"

Zero-sama? If I remember correctly, Kallen told me that you use the word sama when you highly respect someone. She also seems to know about the Black Knights and Zero. Moreover, she seems to have a favorable disposition towards them, based on her words and tone.

"That's right; I am just a low ranking member though, so I am not anything that special."

Since she also knows about the meeting, she must be connected to Kyoto somehow. Is she perhaps a relative of the Six Houses of Kyoto?

"Zero-sama knew that I would be here, didn't he? As expected of the Black Knights."

"Huh…uh, yes…Zero sends his best regards."

"Really…That makes me so happy. That's right, how is the Guren Mk-II? The one who first arranged it to be sent to the Black Knights was me! Oh yeah, I also talked that elder, Kirihara, into giving the Black Knights another machine just like it. I hope they will find a suitable pilot to operate it."

"Is that so…"

The sight of the girl chatting away happily as her stance and expression kept changing constantly was admirable. She didn't really look like a person who would possess such great influence but I guess appearances don't matter.

"But it's too bad. If possible, I wanted to attend the meeting and see Zero-sama's countenance as his future wife…"

"What…?!"

Had Zero really made arrangements to that extent? Or was this talk of marriage just an expectation from Kyoto's side?

"But, you only needed to simply come see me. After all, I am a big fan of the Black Knights."

"Thank you for your support of the Black Knights." I said as I made a short bow.

"The Black Knights are only our hope. Also, after being scattered at Narita, the Japanese Liberation Front needs time to rebuild. Please keep doing your best from now on as well!"

"Sure thing, I will do my best to live up to your expectations."

"Oh yeah, that's right. I never told you my name didn't I? My name is Kaguya…Kaguya Sumeragi."

"Kaguya…Sumeragi…Ugh…"

Whenever I heard her name a jolt suddenly went through me and I started to feel pain in my head. It was just like those other times all over again. I feel to my knees and cried out in pain as I started to see a new vision. This time it was a sunny and clear day along with an image of an open field. In that field were two people, a woman and a young girl. The woman had long black hair and was wearing a Japanese style of clothing. The girl had a hairstyle similar to Kaguya's except her hair was pink and was shorter while she was wearing a kimono. The biggest thing I noticed was that they were both happy with a smile on both of their faces and the young girl was holding an origami shaped like a cherry blossom. As I began to wonder who they were my vision returned to normal and I saw Kaguya standing right in front of me.

"Hey, mister Black Knight soldier, are you okay?" She said with a worried look on her face.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a bad headache is all."

"Oh, is that all…hey, now that I have a closer look at your face, I feel like I seen you somewhere before!"

"Huh…what do you mean?"

"I don't know…I know that I haven't met you in person before but I am pretty sure I saw your face on a picture or maybe on television at one time.

Before we could discuss this any further my phone started to ring and it was Zero again. I answered the call to see what he wanted.

"Rai, what is your situation?"

"I am still inside the plant."

"What…What are you…Never mind, I suppose that is an appropriate decision. Everything has been taken care of over here. The rest of us are returning to base. You should get out of there and return to us as well. Kallen is starting to worry about you."

"What, I never said anything like that!" I heard Kallen say on the other end of the line.

"Is that so…I better get back there quickly then." I answered with a chuckle.

"And here I thought you already escaped…You sure are an interesting guy." Zero chuckled as he hanged up.

"That voice…that was Zero-sama's wasn't it?" Kaguya excitingly said.

"Yes, he seems to have finished things without any problems. I have to go now too."

"Then in that case I will guide you out of here. As long as you are with me, the guards won't think twice about harming you." Kaguya offered.

"Oh, well in case I will accept your offer."

Kaguya then grabbed my hand and started to guide me out of this place even though I knew I was going to look silly holding Kaguya's hand like that. Oh well, whatever keeps me alive I guess.

As we were walking along we passed by some guards but they would just ignored us or say hello to Kaguya. They didn't seem to notice or care about me even though I was only wearing my Black Knights uniform at this point. We eventually got outside and then she showed me a hidden underground tunnel that I could use to get back to the ghettos.

"You can use that tunnel to get back to your organization. Please take care of yourself mister Black Knight soldier."

"Yeah, you take care of yourself as well. Now, if you will excuse me."

She then waved her hand goodbye as I disappeared into the tunnels. After wondering around in the tunnels for a while I eventually arrived back in the ghettos. I then went to the hideout and entered the lounge where Zero was waiting.

"Well done…You remained in the plant in such circumstances, even after I had completed my own task?"

"No, I was just lucky. It was only by chance that I got out alive."

"However, this result only came about from an accumulation of accurate judgment in each situation. Because you also assumed the worst case scenario every time. You are so brilliant it is almost frightening. Just what kind of secret method did you use…?"

"Oh, I didn't do anything special."

The meeting with the leaders of Kyoto seemed to have succeeded without trouble. With this, it seemed that the Black Knights will be getting more abundant support from them now. Zero may have praised my skill, but when I thought of Zero's actions then, he was the one so brilliant it was frightening. Still, I'm just relieved it's over with.

And yet, at the same time I another clue about me past. Sure, it means nothing to me right now because I have no clue what it means at moment. It's just another thing to add to my list of things I don't understand about myself. Still, I wonder how many times I have to suffer through terrible experiences and see vague visions before I find the answers I need. Was I even allowed to find the truth?

Moving on to the next Stage…


	14. Stage 13

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 13: Rai, the Blue Knight

After morning classes were finished I received a phone call from Zero during my break. I made him wait until I got on top of the school rooftop so nobody would hear me before speaking with him over the phone.

"Okay, I am out of people's earshot now. So what did you what to talk about?" I said to Zero over the phone.

"Kyoto's newest supplies just came in. There is even something for you here. But you need to come here in person in order for me to give it to you. I would like you to have it as soon as possible. Can you come out here right now?"

"I'm sorry…but I have to go back to my classes in a few minutes."

"I see…then how about during your lunch break? Would that be a more plausible time?"

"Uh…sure, I think that will work. This won't take long though right?"

"Of course not, I just need to show you a few things. I will be waiting for you in the hanger."

"Sure, see you later then."

I then turned the phone off and put it back in my pocket. I then went back downstairs to resume my classes until it was lunchtime. While several students were heading for the cafeteria, I walked off school grounds and headed for the Black Knights hideout.

* * *

Once there, I headed for the hanger where Zero was waiting for me.

"You came Rai, just like I thought you would." Zero said as he saw me approaching.

I noticed that behind him was a knightmare which the maintenance workers were hastily working on. I also noticed that this knightmare was colored blue and it didn't look like a Burai. It's appearance almost looked like…

"What kind of knightmare is this?" I decided to ask Zero.

"That is the Gekka Pre-Production Test Type. A beautiful child, isn't it?"

I was caught off guard when I heard a voice call out. I turned to where the voice was coming from and saw a woman who looked like she was of Indian descent approaching us. Zero then introduced me to her.

"This is Rakshata Chawla, the creator of the Guren Mk-II. She will be joining us from now on in order to continue getting feedback data on her knightmares."

"The Gekka Pre-Production Test Type huh…sure is a long name. Why don't you just call it the Proto-Gekka or something like that?"

"Well, what a calm reaction. Call it whatever you want, but you needn't worry about this 'Proto-Gekka'. This child is the prototype of what is going to be the mass-production model of the Guren. The necessary combat tests have already been completed by the Guren Mk-II and that girl named Kallen. Compared to the Burai, this frame's response is more sensitive and the output adjustment is a bit peaky, but it should be fine if it's you. After all, its settings have been modified according to the knightmare data Zero has sent me on you.

"From now on this will be your knightmare Rai." Zero said as he tossed me the activation key for the Gekka.

"Wait…so that means…this knightmare…is mine?"

"That's right, along with Kallen's Guren they are the two jewels of the Black Knights. And I can't think of anyone better to pilot this machine other than you. After all, this machine will assist you greatly in the new position I'm going to be giving you."

"My new position…?"

"Yes, while Kallen will be part of my own personal forces, you on the other hand will be your own special unit and will be allowed to act independently from everyone else."

"You mean I will have complete say in what I do on the battlefield?"

"Yes, that just shows how much I value your strategic thinking and judgment. Think of yourself as a one-man army."

"Wow…that's just…"

"Oh yes, would you like to try out this machine right now? I got a new mission plan just for you."

"Wait…you mean right now?"

"Yes, that's right. In one hour Viceroy Cornelia plans to send a small military faction stationed here in Area 11 as well as some of her own personal royal guards out in search of the JLF as well as wiping out other resistance groups in places close to the Saitama Ghettos. Kyoto has requested us, the Black Knights, to assist and defend these resistance groups from the Britannian Military. While I should be the one who undertake this operation, I want to use this chance to test out your Gekka's performance as well as how see well you will do without my assistance."

"You want me to go up against the Britannian Military by myself?"

"That is correct; I think you are quite capable of taking this challenge alone. Come with me to my office. I will explain in full detail of what you have to do there."

I then followed Zero to his office so he could explain the operation to me.

(Third Person View)

Today Kallen has decided to skip her afternoon classes and go out to the Black Knights hideout in order to see the new supplies that came in. She also heard that there was suppose to be a new knightmare model there as well and she wanted to see it for herself. As she walked around the hideout she saw that standing next to her Guren was a blue colored knightmare.

"So, is this the new model?" Kallen questioned out loud.

"Yes, we are calling it the Proto-Gekka now. Isn't my child just adorable?"

Kallen heard a woman say something from behind her. She turned around and saw a woman of Indian descent standing there with a pipe in her hand.

"Umm…excuse me but, who are you?" Kallen questioned the woman.

"My name is Rakshata Chawla, and I am the mother of those two knightmares."

"Oh, so you are the one who made them?'

"That's correct."

"Then tell me, that thing on its left arm…"

"Yes, that is the first grade model of the Radiation surger arm. It's not as powerful as the Guren's Radiation surger but it should still be strong enough to take a knightmare out in one blow."

"I see…so who exactly is going to be piloting this frame?"

"Zero has picked out some kid with silver hair to be the pilot of the Proto-Gekka. I think his name was Rai or something along those lines."

"Huh…you mean Rai is going to be piloting it?!"

Knowing that caused Kallen to smile.

"That means…Rai is finally being recognized for all of his great achievements."

"Yeah, I guess so. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go find where Zero took that boy so we can finally go and test this machine out." Rakshata said as she starting to head for Zero's office.

(First Person View)

"And that is about everything we know about the current situation." Zero said as he finished filling me in on what the mission plan was.

"I see…but I can't help but wonder how you were about to get all that information, about the resistance groups and the Britannian military as well."

"I already told you, I have co-operators everywhere in Area 11. Even in that school you go to."

What…even in Ashford Academy? But why would he need spies in there for. Before I could think about it any further Zero suddenly got up and said it was time to go.

"Well, that is enough planning for now; it's time to get the job done. Are you sure you are ready for this Rai?"

"Yeah…I'm ready."

"Oh yes, one last thing. I know I am sending you out alone but just in case something does happen I am having spare troops outside the perimeter ready to jump in should something happen to you. So please, don't feel like you are all alone out there or anything."

"I will make note of that during my mission."

I then got up and left Zero's room. When I was outside his room I saw Rakshata holding something in her arm.

"I assume that you are ready to go now. Here, take this, your own pilot suit." Rakshata said as she handed me a blue pilot suit.

I noticed the Black Knights symbol was imprinted on the shoulder pads. It looked kind of tacky to me though.

"It's been compensated and furnished for both comfort and greater survivability."

"Oh, uh…thank you."

I then quickly put on my new uniform and headed out to the hanger. When I got out to the hanger I saw Kallen standing in front of my knightmare. She must have heard me coming because she turned toward me as I approached her.

"Hey there Rai."

"Hello Kallen."

"I just heard that you are going out to test the Proto-Gekka. Hey, that must be the new pilot suit isn't it?" Kallen said as she pointed at me.

I just looked down at it and then turn my head back up.

"Yeah, I guess it is. So Kallen, what is the state of your Guren?" I said as I looked over at her machine.

"There are no problems with it. We have already finished repairing the right hand from the damage at Narita."

"Next time you shouldn't overdo it as much."

"I will be fine…I am the ace of the Black Knights after all. Rather, will you be okay, taking independent action by yourself out there? Besides that, you seemed like you have been down recently, like you are agitated about something. Are you okay?" Kallen asked with a worried expression on her face.

"Huh, yeah, I'm fine. You don't need to concern yourself about it. Besides, I should be fine. The performance of the Gekka is similar to the Guren's, so it's just as reliable. I will be able to do it." I said as I quickly brushed concerns away.

"Umm…Okay, but don't forget, it is the pilot who makes the machine, not the other way around. You were chosen to pilot this machine because of your excellent piloting skills. But, for Zero to have trusted you with this solo mission, he must have a lot of faith in you.

"Huh…Is that so…"

"Well, I am also proud that I am the one who found such talent."

Even I, who no one truly knew, was being relied on by the Black Knights. I would have to fight as well as Kallen. This was now my place to be. You were the one who led me to this unfortunate fate Kallen. I couldn't help but smile at that thought.

"Ah, just now, you smiled."

"Huh…Really?"

"Yeah, you only laugh sometimes, but your smiling face is quite nice to see. Well then…make sure you don't overdo it either."

"Yeah…I won't disappoint you all."

"If something does happen, you can guarantee that I will be coming straight to your aid in my Guren."

"That's nice to know."

"Well, good luck then." Kallen then left me with those words.

* * *

Once Rakshata's team was ready we headed out for the Saitama Ghettos. While we were heading out I was reading the manual for this knightmare while sitting in the cockpit. Unlike the Burai or the Britannian knightmares, the cockpit of this knightmare made its user stand in a motorcycle position stance. I thought it was kind of weird for a cockpit to force its user to be in such a weird position but I guess that is just how the Elevens roll. The weapons this machine uses consists of a single slash harken, a Revolving Blade Sword and a handgun to use with the right hand and a radiation surger that has three fingers on its left hand.

When we arrived at the edge of the ghettos Rakshata contacted me over the communicator.

"Everything on our end is set to go. You can take off in the Proto-Gekka now. I am expecting to obtain some useful data out of that machine so make sure you try out all of its weaponry."

"Right…I am going to take off now."

After putting in the activation key the machine started to come to life. I then took off in my unit as I headed into the ruins of the ancient city. Let's see here, according to Zero's analysis there should be a total of twenty enemy units scattered throughout the ghettos. After searching through the ghetto I came across three Sutherlands fighting some terrorists and their knightmares. The terrorists had two Glasgows, two Burais and several infantry men. By the looks of it the terrorists were in a losing situation with their inferior machines and weapons. But that what I'm here for, to give a helping hand.

I headed straight in and used my slash harken to knock the assault rifle out of one of the Sutherland's hand. I then went straight up to it and slashed the frame to pieces with my sword. Once my opponents noticed my presence one of them charged at me with its stun tonfa. Thanks to my knightmares maneuverability I was able to quickly dodge his attack but sliding to the right and then I slashed its arm off with my sword. It activated the stun tonfa on its other arm and tried to use that but before it could I grabbed the frame with my radiation surger arm and used the radiation wave to destroy the unit.

The last Sutherland immediately ran away after I destroyed its two comrades. I tried to shoot at it with my handgun but I only managed to put a dent in its left arm. Its pilot probably knew it couldn't stand up to my knightmare and ran to go get backup. Well that's two Sutherlands down so far. Before I decided to move on I suddenly received an open channel with one of the terrorist group.

"Hey, thanks for the help, but who exactly are you?"

"I am from the Black Knights. Zero sent me out here to help you."

"For real!?"

"Yes, and if you and your group don't want to lose then you will follow my exact orders from here on out."

"Okay, I am listening."

"First, I want you to get all of your knightmares here at this point. Then I want all the Glasgows with the giant cannons to hide themselves on top of the building roofs. All of the Burais should conceal themselves on the ground inside the ruins. Is that all clear?"

"Uh yeah, but why should all of our forces be hidden here at this point?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain everything to you. You are just going to have to heed my instructions. This is all to defeat Britannia."

"Well alright then, I will make sure the knightmares get into their positions." He said as we cut our communication.

I then head deeper into the ruins to find more enemy units. My plan is to take out as many enemy units as I can and then lure the rest back to that point where the terrorists will ambush and hopefully take care of the rest. After searching around I came across two more Sutherlands. What they were doing though horrified me. Not only were they taking out the terrorists, but the civilians as well. The sight of their blood being sprayed out reminded me of that time in Shinjuku when they were doing the exact same thing. Those cold-hearted bastards! I won't let them get away with this. Since their backs were turned away I could easily attack them from behind.

I used my handgun to shoot off the landspinner of one of the Sutherlands which caused it to fall down. I then made my knightmare jump and landed right on top of the Sutherland, crushing it to pieces with my knightmare's feet.

The other Sutherland came and furiously started to charge at me with its jousting lance. I grabbed the lance single handedly with the radiation arm, with the tip of the lance right in the center of my hand. My knightmare's left hand wasn't damaged at all, not even a crack. I then activated the radiation wave and melted the lance until it was finally destroyed. Immediately after that, before the Sutherland could make a move, I used the sword in my hand and thrust it right into the center of the Sutherland. The sword went right through the Sutherland's body. I then freed my sword by slicing though the left side of the Sutherland. After I got my sword back, the enemy unit fell backwards and then exploded. I looked down at the citizens and they all seemed relieved to be out of danger now. Satisfied with the current situation I left to go search in a different area.

After looking around the place I found myself in a large open area within the ghettos. There I saw ten Sutherlands fighting head on with what looked like Burai units. I took a closer look and saw that they were really Burai units customized by the JLF. Zero told me that protecting the JLF was our top priority. Well, no used standing here and watching, time to equal up the playing field. I made my knightmare jump right into the fray and swung my sword into a Sutherland, slicing it right in half. I was then contacted by one of the JLF's soldiers while I tackled with another Sutherland.

"I thank you for your assistance but which resistance group are you from?"

"I am from the Black Knights."

"I see…then Kyoto sent you then."

"That is correct."

"After you take that one out we should be able to deal with the rest of them. You just go help the other resistance group here as with as the citizens."

"Roger that."

We then cut contact. I then slashed the stun tonfa off the Sutherlands arm and then knocked it down with my slash harken. I then shot at it with my handgun at it until it blew up. I then look over and saw each of the five custom Burai take out a Sutherland. There were only three Sutherlands left in this area. These guys should be able to take out the rest without my help. I then looked down at my energy filler and saw I only had forty percent of energy left. Well, I better finish this quickly. I wonder if those other guys got everything ready yet.

(Third Person View)

Lelouch was sitting in his office inside the Black Knights hideout while consciously studying the chessboard he had laid out on the table. The chess pieces were scattered all over the table. On one end of the board the white king was one move away from being in check by the black queen. But controversy, the black king was already in check by the white knight chess piece.

"That looks like a difficult situation you are in." C.C. said as she sat on the couch doing the only thing she ever seems to do, eating pizza.

"Yes, that's how things looked before. But from now on things are going to go differently. I have an extra chess piece to play on the board." Lelouch said as he took out a new knight chess piece and placed it on the board. While it was black on the bottom the horse figure was blue.

"I would like to see how Britannia counters this move." Lelouch confidently said.

"By the way, have you forgotten something?" C.C. said as she held a ticket in her hand.

Lelouch immediately swiped it out of her hand.

"I didn't forget…I don't know how long it's going to take Rai to finish this operation so I was planning on calling Shirley and cancel our meeting."

"…Stick to your contract."

Lelouch's phone then went off. He looked at who was calling and saw that it was Shirley. Lelouch then answered it.

"Oh, good timing I wanted to call you and..."

 _"Umm…listen Lulu, I know I made a date with you but I may be late. Sorry, but anyways, I am sure it will be fine really…but I promise you that I will be there. I will see you later tonight."_

Shirley then hung up.

"Well, I am glad it was her who did it instead of me. Now I can get back to this matter." Lelouch said as he looked back down at the chessboard.

(First Person View)

I was running down the streets of the ghettos as five Sutherlands chased after me while firing their assault rifles at me. Leading them was the Sutherland with a dent in its left arm from earlier. I dodged their shots by turning at a nearby corner and going down a different road. I then stopped my knightmare from moving, turned around and waited for the Sutherlands to show up. When I saw them coming I yelled out an order to attack.

"Okay guys, do it now, fire!"

The five Sutherlands were then pelted by assault rifle shots from Burais on the ground and blasted by cannon shots by the Glasgow's giant cannons from the roofs of the building. All five Sutherlands were then destroyed as they exploded. Now, let's see…how many units have I destroyed? That should have been all of them but I needed to count to make sure. I destroyed two units when I got here, two more that were attacking the citizens, and then I destroyed two of the ten units attacking the JLF. The JLF's Burais then destroyed one unit each which makes it five more. There were three units remaining when I left the JLF but they should have been able to deal with them. And just now I destroyed five units at once with an ambush caused by the resistance group. That totals up to nineteen units destroyed. Wait a minute…nineteen? That means there's one unit left.

I then suddenly heard the sound of a knightmare being destroyed. I looked up at the top of a building and saw a Glasgow being pierced by a huge lance. It then exploded as the lance was being pulled out. I looked at what kind of knightmare it was and saw it was a Gloucester which meant it was one of Cornelia's Royal Guards. Of course, I should have known that the head commander would be one of Cornelia's top soldiers. It then started to take out the other Glasgows standing on the rooftop while knocking the frames off the roof. The Glasgows came falling down and crashing right onto the ground and exploding. Not wanting to see this continue I used my slash harken to climb my way up to the rooftop and challenge the enemy knightmare.

Okay, if I beat this one, my mission will be cleared. Now how should I deal with this thing? The enemy Gloucester had a Jousting Lance in its right hand and an assault rifle in its left hand. I think it would be better to wait and see what it does before making a move. But if I had to guess it would probably charge at me with its lance, given that the Gloucester is for close-quarter combat.

And I was right; it started to charge at me, trying to stab me with that lance. I block it by attacking the side of the lance with my RBS Sword. We were then in a deadlock although in my current situation I was at a disadvantage, with that huge overbite lance pressuring down on my sword. The Gloucester then readied its assault rifle, trying to shoot at me through an opening. I didn't give it a chance though as I knocked the rifle out of its hand by firing my slash harken at it.

I then let go of my sword and jumped back in order to avoid being crushed by that lance. It then came rushing in again and thrusted the lance once more. I was barely able to dodge the blow and then tried to grab his weapon with my left arm. I was having difficulty keeping a hold of it though as I didn't get a good grip on it. The Gloucester was able to free its weapon and quickly attacked me again with it. This time it managed to scrape the right side of my knightmare, but I can still operate my machine normally. I suddenly received a message from Rakshata who appeared on a small screen.

"Hey, what do you think you are doing out there? You let my baby get hurt like that! That is unforgivable!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't talk with you right now. I am a little busy here."

I then immediately cut off communication form her so I could focus at the battle at hand. Let's see here, I know that in order to win I need to get my sword back. I looked at my energy filler and saw that I only had twenty percent left now. Okay, I will finish this in six moves.

I fired my slash harken at it, hoping to hit the hand that was holding the jousting lance but it countered by firing its own slash harken, canceling each other out. I then fired my handgun and it blocked itself by using the lance to shield itself. Now is my chance…Since it wouldn't be able to see me coming I quickly charged over there and grabbed the lance with my radiation arm. Now that I have a good hold of it I activated the radiation wave and started to melt away at the lance. While I was doing that with my left hand I grabbed my sword with my right hand, which was on the ground nearby, back up. The lance then took enough damage from my radiation wave and blew up. I then came out from the smokescreen and then stabbed the Gloucester with the sword while pushing my frame up against it.

We were then at the edge of the building so I kicked the Gloucester with my knightmare's foot and knocked it off the building as my sword slid back out of the enemy frame. As the Gloucester fell it threw something up in the air as it fell and then when it touched the ground it burst into flames.

I looked up to see what it threw and saw that it was a chaos mine. Except this time I wasn't going to let it hit me. Thanks to the Proto-Gekka's great maneuverability I was able to dodge the needles sprouting out from the chaos mine. I then took aim with my handgun and shot that annoying thing away. Whew…I think that's it. I looked at my energy filler and saw I only have ten percent left. I guess I better recharge it. I then heard people shouting and screaming over the edge of the building so I moved my knightmare over there and looked down to see what the commotion was. As I looked down from the top of the building I saw several citizens as well as some resistance fighters standing around the Gloucester I destroyed and they were cheering while looking up at my Proto-Gekka.

"Yeah…way to go!"

"Thank you so much for saving us from those Britannians!"

"Keep up the good work!"

"Down with those Britannians!"

I couldn't help but feel a sigh a relief from seeing the Japanese cheering for me like that. I then received an open channel from one of the JLF soldiers.

"I see that you are finished on your end. We have successfully finished off the remaining units on our end. If it is not a problem I would like to meet you so I can give my thanks in person. We will be over at the area where we met earlier."

"Sure, I will be there shortly."

I then took off in my knightmare and headed over to the large field in the ghettos. When I arrived I saw five people standing in the middle with the five custom Burai. Two of the Burais were completely destroyed and the other three were badly damaged. It didn't look like they were going to be able to fix them. I got out of my knightmare and approached them. The man standing in front of the other four then saluted as he introduced himself.

"It is an honor to meet like this. I am the Lieutenant Colonel and leader of the Four Holy Sword, Kyoshiro Tohdoh. Behind me are my subordinates."

The four people behind him each began to step forward and introduce themselves.

"My name is Shogo Asahina." The green haired man with glasses said.

"I'm Nagisa Chiba." A brown-haired woman said.

"I'm Ryoga Senba." The largest man there said.

"And I'm Kotetsu Urabe." The last one with blue hair said.

"My name is Rai." I replied back to them.

"Tell me, what kind of knightmare are you piloting?" Tohdoh asked me.

"Oh this…This knightmare is called the Proto-Gekka. It is a seventh generation Japanese knightmare."

"It must be a very difficult machine to use. But for someone your age to be operating it, you must be a very skilled pilot."

"I get told that a lot even though I don't think I am anything that special. I just do my job, that's all."

"I see…well, it's nice to talk to you and all but we have to get going. I don't think I can spare much time talking with you. The longer we stay here; the more likely that Britannia will come out here again. You can send Zero and the Black Knights my best regards."

"I will do that."

"And make sure that you and your people continue the fight against Britannia."

"Roger that."

Tohdoh gave one last salute and then began to walk away followed by the Four Holy Swords being right behind him. Once they were gone from my sight I got back inside my knightmare and headed back to Rakshata's crew. When we got everything together we headed back to the Black Knights hideout.

* * *

"How was it? The Proto-Gekka I mean." Rakshata asked me when we got back to the hideout's hanger.

"Existing frames cannot be compared to the extraordinary power of this frame. The Guren also can't be outdone either."

"Of course, it is because the Pre-Production Type was made with the merits of the Guren as a basis. Moreover, this means that it is for your exclusive use only."

"My exclusive use?"

"I had to adjust the foundation of my data because of your unique piloting skills. I wonder, do you also exceed the Guren, I wonder."

"I don't think so. I am still not as good as Kallen."

"Really, you are quite interesting. My knightmare's full potential cannot be fully released without someone like you. But I couldn't help but feel that you held back a little on that last operation."

"What do you mean by that?"

"While the machine was fully operational there was something that was interfering with you as the pilot. If I had to guess I would say that it was lack of confidence that prevents you from being at your absolute best."

"Well, I never really did have a lot of confidence to begin with. Without my missing memories, I don't really know how I am supposed to feel or act like."

"In any case I would like to thank you for your assistance. I managed to get some good data on my knightmare. Although you did cause a little scratch on my Gekka, I will forgive you this one time."

"I will make sure to be more careful next time."

"Please do." Rakshata then began to walk away while putting that pipe back in her mouth.

After she left I began to wonder what I was going to do next. I then saw Kallen running up to me while holding something in her arms.

"Hey, you're back! That means the mission was a success right?"

"Yes, I was able to reduce the casualties caused in the Saitama Ghettos."

"Well, now that you are finished you must be hungry now right? I didn't see you in the school cafeteria today. While you were busy on your solo mission I quickly made something for the both of us to eat." Kallen said as she held the two bentos in both of her hands.

"Oh, that was very kind of you Kallen but I'm not really that hungry."

As soon as I finished saying that however my stomach started growling.

"Yeah, well your stomach says otherwise." Kallen said as she giggled at me.

"Err…scratch that, maybe I am hungry after all."

Kallen then handed me one of her bentos.

"It's important that you eat. You need to keep yourself healthy and have plenty of energy. And besides, isn't the food I make better than the rations here at the hideout?" Kallen questioned me.

"Well yes, of course. But I didn't think that you would go to such great lengths to do something like this for me."

"H-huh…what are you talking about…I'm still your helper aren't I?" Kallen said as she looked other way with her face starting to turn red.

"Well, that is true."

"Are you saying that you would rather have me do nothing for you, or maybe you are saying my cooking isn't good enough for you?" Kallen started to sound serious now.

"Huh…N-no, I appreciate you helping me out, and I also think that your cooking is good."

"Hmph…Come on, let's go eat already."

"Sure, but let me take off this pilot suit first. I will see you in the lounge."

"Okay, I will see you there then."

Kallen went on ahead to the lounge while I went to change my uniform. I took off my pilot suit and now I was only wearing my black knight's pants with a black t-shirt. I stuffed that pilot uniform in a locker which had my other things and then I went on back to the lounge to eat with Kallen. While we were eating our bentos on the couch Kallen began talking to me.

"So how was it, piloting the Proto-Gekka I mean."

"It's…different from any knightmare I piloted before."

"I noticed that your unit has the radiation surger equipped to it as well. It's a pretty cool weapon, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it's a very unique weapon. But personally I would prefer to use the standard equipment or shape the radiation surger into a different weapon, but maybe that's just me."

"Now that you have your own personal machine that makes you an ace as well." Kallen said as she pointed her chopsticks at me.

"Huh…you really think so?"

"Yep, maybe we should call you Zero's Blue Knight from now on!"

"Is that so…I guess you would be Zero's Red Knight then."

"Yeah, and together we are going to bring peace to Japan!"

"Yes, together."

"Hehe…" Kallen giggled for a moment.

"Hmm…What's so funny?" I queried back.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just relieved to know that you were still okay after all."

"Huh…What do you mean by that?"

"…It's just that…Like I said before, I noticed that recently you seemed to be more glum than usual."

" _More glum than usual?"_ I thought to myself.

"That's why I went ahead and prepped this meal together for us, to try and maybe make you feel a little better. And also to check for myself how you are doing. You are okay, aren't you Rai?" Kallen said as she looked at me.

I was silent for a moment but before I could say anything Kallen's cell phone went off.

"It's from student council…" Kallen said as she answered her phone.

"Yes, this is Kallen…Milly, what is it…Yes, Rai is with me right now….What, no, we are not doing that with each other…Huh, oh, I see…yes, I will make sure I tell him that…See you tomorrow then."

Kallen then hung her phone up and turned towards me with a guilty look on her face.

"What's wrong, did something happen?" I asked her.

"That was Milly on the phone. She just told me that Shirley's father has just passed away recently. Milly told me that the funeral is being held tomorrow and that all the student council members should be there."

"What did he die of exactly?"

"It was from the mudslide that slid into the town below the Narita Mountains…The one that we caused."

After that I silently watched as Kallen got up and left with an anguished look on her face. I wasn't even able to give her my reply from before her phone went off.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	15. Stage 14

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 14: Battle at the Port, Britannia's Blue Knight Appears

Today I went out to the cemetery with the rest of student council to attend the funeral of Shirley's father. I almost decided not to go but Milly came and dragged me out there. It was cloudy outside today, almost as if it was about to rain. I noticed that during the whole sermon Lelouch just stood there looking down with his hair covering his eyes. He seemed exceptionally sad about this. Once the funeral procession was finished the other people began walking away and Shirley walked back over to where we were standing. Kallen was the first one to speak to her.

"Shirley, I'm so sorry this happened."

"Oh stop, what do you need to apologize for?"

Kallen just turned her face away in guilt.

"We feel awful! It's just that, when we were all watching the whole hotel jacking on TV, I thought the Black Knights were, well you know, heroes. The news was handling it all wrong. Anyways, I was posting online about what happened in Narita was kind of cool and…forgive me." Rivalz said as he bowed his head.

"Come on, don't be silly. This has absolutely nothing to do with this at all. I mean, even I was saying Narita was…" She was then interrupted by Milly who placed her hands on Shirley's shoulders.

"Shirley, stop…Seriously, I am starting to worry about you here. Have you cried yet? If you simply hold it in it will only be harder for you later on."

When I heard Milly say that I couldn't help but think to myself.

" _Holding things inside yourself will only make things harder huh…"_

"You don't have to worry. Really, I am fine. I have cried plenty already." Shirley reassured while looking away.

"Cowards…Zero and his people…Their methods are just cowardly. He doesn't even get his hands dirty. He stirs people into a frenzy, tips the world into chaos and then sits back and congratulates himself. It's not going to change a thing. Anything gained through his kind of tactics are just meaningless." Suzaku angrily proclaimed.

The rest of us quickly ignored his outburst though.

"Well anyways, I think it is time to head back everyone. Shirley, we will be waiting for you…back in the old student council room…Same as ever." Milly said reassuring.

We all then started to walk away. I turned around and saw that Lelouch wasn't moving and just stood there. I was about to go back and say something to him but Milly suddenly put her arm around me and made me walk forward while whispering something into my ear.

"Those two need to be alone with each other right now. They need to talk about something amongst themselves."

"Oh, I think I understand."

"And another thing, can you do Shirley's work for student council today. I don't think she's going to be coming in today. It's just paper work for the swim club, it won't be that hard."

"Sure…"

I decided to do Shirley's work for student council. After all, it was the least I could do for her. Back in the clubhouse, as I was doing Shirley's work as well as my own, I noticed it started to rain outside. Once I was finished with everything I waited for the rain to stop before going outside.

Now that I was finished with my work I wanted to get as far away as possible from this place in order to avoid running into Shirley. I don't think I will be able to speak face-to-face with her for a while until I get this feeling of guilt out of me. I figured the best place to go would be the Black Knights hideout. I decided to bring an umbrella with me just in case the rain started back up.

Before I was off school grounds however I ran into Suzaku, who still seemed pretty steamed about something but loosened up when he started talking to me.

"Rai, there is something that I want to ask you."

"And what would that be?" I nervously started to say.

"I have been thinking, and I know I already asked you this once, but I want you to join the Britannian Military."

"…And why is that?"

"Because, you can be of more use to everyone in the military than just sitting here at school. I know you and Kallen have a special thing with each other and…"

"Hey, I never said I was doing anything with her." I said as I shook my hands out.

"Well, anyways the point I am trying to make is if you were in the military you could be saving the lives of many people with your special talents. I think you and I could be partners as we try to change Area 11 from within. We would be about to protect the lives of our friends as well as their families. So something like the death of Shirley's father never occurs again."

"I'm sorry Suzaku, but I'm going to have to refuse that offer of yours. While I believe that protecting lives is important and that Area 11 does need to change, right now, regaining my memories takes top priority. Until I understand who I really am the best thing for me right now is to sit on the sidelines. I am simply Rai, the guy who knows close to nothing about himself. I'm nobody special right now. Besides, somebody has to protect Ashford Academy right?"

"Well that true…I'm sorry that I tried to force something like doing military work onto you. I don't want to make you do something you're not comfortable with. I won't ask you again."

"I'm sorry to say this, but please excuse me." I said as I bid farewell to Suzaku and proceeded to leave school grounds and quickly made my way out to the hideout.

At this point there is no turning back for me. There was nothing that was going to sway me from the path I have chosen. I already knew what I have become…an enemy of Britannia.

When I got out to the hideout I noticed the place seemed less lively than it usually was, and even that wasn't much. Even Zero seemed a little quiet today. For some reason, I could tell that he was sad about something, even though I couldn't see his face.

"Rai…What do you think about sacrifices?" Zero said as he called out to me in the lounge.

"What do you mean…Do you mean the sacrifices that come from the result of war?"

"Yes…That too, of course."

How rare it was for Zero's voice to lack the aspiration it usually carried. Was it my imagination?

"Well, for the sake of living up to one sacrifice, one must make yet another. In order to move forward, wouldn't you need to shoulder that kind of resolve?"

"Yes…You're right. You are absolutely right."

"What's wrong? You seem kind of down about something."

"What do you mean?"

"You seem different today somehow."

"Only in front you, huh…" Zero's voice then started to sound more charismatic.

"I have had that kind of resolve since long ago. Yes, since very long ago…"

While in a state of brooding over something, Zero then left. I spend the rest of my day doing maintenance on the Proto-Gekka. Once I was finished with everything I could do there I looked at the time and decided to call it a day. It was definitely a day that I felt that not much was accomplished.

The next day I tried to avoid Shirley as much as I could. I was even willing to sit on the other side of the classroom.

Once classes were finished for the day I went to the student council room to do my work there. Today not only did I have to my work but Lelouch's as well, who didn't even show up at school today. Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder what that guy thinks is so important that he would skip out on school and his student council duties so much.

After I finished my work for student council I decided to walk around the school grounds until I ran into Kallen, who seems to be looking for me.

"Rai, please come with me for a moment. Something urgent has come up and I need to speak with you." Kallen said as she grabbed my wrist and whisked me away to the other side of the school building despite the reaction of some nearby students.

Once we were sure that nobody would hear us we began talking by some nearby trees.

"What is it Kallen…Is this something related the Black Knights?"

"Yes, I am here to tell you that a bit of intelligence have been confirmed."

"I see…What is it then?"

"General Katase, the leader of the JLF who was driven out of their base at the battle of Narita, is said to be planning to escape overseas to the Chinese Federation. There was also the request from Kyoto saying the Black Knights should help them make their getaway. Later this evening, we will be meeting at the bay area with everyone else. Ohgi and the others already brought all the equipment beforehand. All we need to do is head out there and get ready for the mission in our knightmares."

"I understand…I guess that means we better get out right away."

"That's right."

Kallen and I then headed out to the bay area where the rest of the Black Knights were gathered in an abandoned warehouse.

(Third Person View)

Suzaku was checking the status of the Lancelot when Lloyd came in and interrupted him.

"I have some bad news Suzaku. We just got word from Cornelia's Royal Guards. We are on deck for the next operation. Are they acknowledging your skills or do they need another decoy?"

"Oh Lloyd, care for another lesson in proper social etiquette. You look like you have some time to kill." Cecile said coming through the door while carrying some food on a tray.

"I will have to take a pass on that. Now then, I believe we were talking about your mission. You need to head out to the warehouses out in the bay area and speak to General Dalton to hear the full explanation."

"Okay then, I will head out there right away." Suzaku said as he got ready to leave.

Once he was gone Lloyd and Cecile were having a private chat.

"Miss Cecile, are both knightmares ready to go?"

"Yes, both Z-01 and Z-01b are already prepped and ready to go."

"Excellent, that is just excellent!"

(First Person View)

"Wait a second Zero…I realize this is a request from Kyoto. I think we can definitely handle this. And I am pretty sure the Japan Liberation Front would rather join with us than flee to foreign soil and all but…" Ohgi was then interrupted by Zero.

"You are the one who brought us this information…Diethard, wasn't it?"

"That is right…It is an honor that you would meet me like this Zero." The man called Diethard said while two Black Knights soldiers had their guns pointed right in front of him.

The movement of Cornelia's army was confirmed thanks to information provided by this Britannian co-operator, Diethard Ried. Our strategy was dramatically changed as a result. Diethard seems to have also been the one who provided us with the information on Narita as well as the Saitama Ghetto incident. He also said that he wanted to become a full time member of the Black Knights and watch our activities in person from now on.

"So Princess Cornelia is going to deploy the royal marines on General Katase of the Japan Liberation Front…Is that correct?"

"Yes, the network is already poised to broadcast a special report on it."

"Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh will never make it to Katase in time. This means the Japan Liberation Front has no military strength right now. Their only chance of escape is the liquid Sakuradite they are carrying on board their ship."

"This is why we should help General Katase escape instead of going after Cornelia…" Ohgi protest underneath his breath.

But Zero heard Ohgi silent complaint and gave him a charismatic question.

"Ohgi…who are we?"

"W-We are the Black Knights." Ohgi answered.

"Then we have but one task! We will destroy Cornelia's troops, and in doing so, rescue the remnants of the JLF. Tonight, we regain what was lost to us at Narita!"

At first it seemed like we would concentrate on supporting their escape, but Zero didn't seem to intend to leave it at just that.

"What are our chances of success?"

"Do you need to ask?"

"Understood…"

"Begin preparations, you all have your orders to carry out besides you Rai. Come with me and I will give you the special task you will be doing on this operation."

"Sure thing…" I said as I started to follow Zero.

We then entered a small office in the storage room. Zero walked over to a table and placed a map of the entire bay area on top of the table.

"Rai, I want you to move independently from the others just like last time."

"I see…"

"Cornelia is deploying the assault unit, but she is also deploying the rear troops of her personal forces at each of the harbors."

Zero spread out a drawing of the harbor area and pointed out the deployments of our enemies and allies on the map.

"Rai, you will attack these rear troops and this blockade line, and secure for us a path of retreat. You and the Proto-Gekka should have no problems with this mission. I am placing my expectations on you."

"Understood..."

(Third Person View)

Suzaku headed out the bay area and found General Dalton waiting for him in one of the warehouses.

"Just so you know, the viceroy has a reservation about using Numbers, but use every able body I always say…Even if it's the son of the former prime minister. Our target is Katase. Take him out the Japan Liberation Front is finished. We will be sending in the royal marines. Your job will be to provide supporting fire from the shore until the marines have Katase. As well as annihilating any stragglers left over."

"I am to…annihilate them sir?" Suzaku said shocked.

"Nobody but the target is to survive. Is that clear? Warrant officer Kururugi, show your loyalty to the crown. This is your chance to get ahead in the world soldier." Dalton then began to walk away to prepare the knightmares.

"Understood…my lord." Suzaku said while trying to squeeze out the words.

"Onward holy warriors…Conflicting morals right?" Lloyd said as he appeared from nowhere in the warehouse.

Suzaku just turned his eyes away from him when Lloyd said that while clinching onto his knightmare activation key.

"Oh yes, I just gotten word from Miss Cecile on some new intel. It seems that we will be having a new ally joining us tonight."

"A new ally?"

"Yes, apparently Britannia is sending one of their best knights over here to help assist us in dealing with these…terrorists."

"A new ally huh?" Suzaku thought to himself as he wondered who this new ally could be.

(First Person View)

We hastily began preparing for our plan. Zero and the other members of the main force were preparing the high speed boat they would board, which would be able to get to General Katase's boat at any time. After concealing the Proto-Gekka in the warehouse district, I would open a path through the bay area's blockade line of Cornelia's rear guards at the same time as the main operation began. After splitting up from the main body of our forces alone, I weaved my way through the space between the harbor facilities and hid myself inside one of the warehouses.

Before long, sounds of shooting started. It seems like the forces of the Britannian army had begun to move first. Since Colonel Tohdoh had yet to rejoin then, the JLF should have very little fighting power right now. If we didn't move quickly to support them, we wouldn't be able to save the JLF from this difficult battle.

After waiting patiently in my knightmare for a while I thought I suddenly noticed something going on outside. The group of warehouses hindered my view, but I could see something in the direction of the wharf. A huge column of fire was rising over there. It seems like the battle had already begun. I guess that was my cue to begin moving. As I made my knightmare jump out of the warehouse I got a message over the communicator.

"Rai, can you hear me?" Ohgi said over the communicator.

"Yes Ohgi, what just happened?"

"General Katase's tanker had managed to set sail, but was then boarded by Britannia's marine forces…It seems they used the liquid Sakuradite they were carrying onboard to self-destruct."

"What happens to our plan?"

"Zero is taking our main forces to rush Cornelia's troop stronghold just as it is. Hopefully, we can take Cornelia prisoner with just that."

"Then, I will just continue to work on my own just as the plan called for before."

"Yeah, we are counting on you!"

"Roger that, I will be cutting communication with you all from here."

I checked the data concerning battle situation. Zero had to immediately rush and attack Cornelia's stronghold by using the sudden explosion as a distraction. In any case, the path of retreat still needed to be secured. My mission hasn't changed.

I arrived at the entrance to the harbor facilities. I could see some Britannian forces stationed there. There was one knightmare and several tanks. It was a small force that served as both a defense and a blockade. The knightmare was only a Sutherland, which wouldn't stand a chance against the Proto-Gekka. Because their attention was still focused on the explosion just now, they didn't notice me approaching. Now what should I do, take out the tanks first or that Sutherland.

In the few seconds I had to think things through I made my decision and immediately rushed forward. The tanks, which were all lined up, were as good as gone as I blew them all away at once with only my handgun. The Sutherland, who finally noticed my presence, leveled its assault rifle at me from the other side of the explosions' flames. His aim was too confused and half-hearted though as my Proto-Gekka was able to easily glide past his shots as I approached him. As I passed him, I drew my sword, the Revolving Blade Sword, and slashed the Sutherland frame right in half with its upper half falling off and hitting the ground. Immediately after that the pilot ejected from his cockpit.

A few infantry soldiers remained, but since it was no longer possible for them to stop the intervention of my knightmare there would be no problems with securing the escape route now.

After this, I took out several strong points for the blockade line. Everything was going according to plan.

At that point I then suddenly noticed an enemy was approaching on my IFF signal. Did it notice the disturbance I caused just now? It was only one frame though. However, it was moving fast. It definitely wasn't a Sutherland. I hid myself in the shadows of a pile of containers beside the warehouse to see what it was. When the knightmare came to my area it stopped and started to look around. I took a quick glance at what I was dealing with here and saw that it was a white knightmare. Wait a minute…a white knightmare? Could this be the knightmare that Kallen is always talking about, the one that always gets in the way of the Black Knights activities? After taking a second look at it I realize that this wasn't the one Kallen has mentioned. The one she talked about had gold trims around it, but this one had blue trims on it. Could it be that Britannia is trying to mass-produce that machine? In any case, I will need to destroy that knightmare in order to ensure the escape route for the Black Knights.

Looking at my current position, I had the advantage to perform an ambush. I will take it out with one attack. I took my Gekka out of my hiding spot and started to shoot at the mysterious machine with my handgun. However, it immediately noticed my presence and formed a green shield around itself warding off all my bullets.

"What, it reflects bullets?" I said out loud.

Seeing that my handgun was useless in this position I whipped out my blazing sword and swung it at the enemy knightmare. It responded by clashing my sword with a lance shaped like a sword. After noticing that I wouldn't be able to cut through his sword I made my knightmare jump backward to think of a new strategy.

My adversary didn't give me much time to think though as it pulled an assault rifle out with its other hand and started shooting at me with it. I was able to easily dodge the bullets as my knightmare danced across the port line. I then heard Ohgi send a message out to all the Black Knights members through the communicators.

"We are withdrawing…Did you hear me everyone, all of our forces are to withdraw…Head to your escape points!"

Well this isn't good. Our forces are going to try to go through this escape route any minute now and there is still an enemy here at this location, a dangerous one at that. It looks like I have no choice but to use myself as a decoy and try to drag him to another location. I then steered my Proto-Gekka towards the inner parts of the port while still dodging his rifles attacks in the hope that he will take the bait and follow me away from our escape route.

And luckily he did, I turned my head for a moment to see that he was right on my tail and began firing two slash harkens at me from its wrists. I went and hid around a couple of nearby containers to avoid the attack.

I then got my sword ready to use, expecting him to appear around the crate but then it did something that I wasn't expecting. The knightmare blasted right through the crate with that assault rifle somehow and swung that lance at me. We clashed blades once again except this time I had more momentum and was able to push him back. The enemy knightmare then jumped backwards when it knew it was going to lose the sword clash. I then shot my single slash harken at it hoping to knock that rifle out of its hand. But the white knightmare swiftly put its assault rifle away, drew out another sword shaped lance and slashed right through the middle of my harken with its new sword. It then used its new sword to combine with its other one to form a single double edged lance.

The knightmare then charged straight at me with its newly formed lance. I countered it with my sword and we were in a deadlock once again. I had the pressure on him and thought I was going to break through but then it flipped its lance around and knocked my sword out of my hand with the other end of the lance. My sword then went flying into the ocean. I couldn't believe it; he knocked my sword out of my hand! Not wanting to let up for a second, I immediately started to shoot my handgun at him. This time however it reflected my bullets by spinning that dual-wielding lance in front of itself and warded off all of my attacks.

It then once again charged at me and swung its lance at me. I dodged the attack and then grabbed its weapon with my radiation surger arm. It was difficult trying to keep a grip on the lances with only three fingers but I finally managed to keep a good grip on it. I then activated the radiation surger and started to melt away at its lances. The knightmare then decided to let go of its weapon and jumped back away. I then heard C.C. trying to contact me over the radio.

"Rai, what are you still doing out there? The rest of the Black Knights have already retreated. You need to get out of there before the military surrounds and captures you and your knightmare."

"…Roger that, I will begin to retreat from this area." I then cut contact with C.C. and crushed the now weakened dual-wielding lance in half with my surger arm's fingers.

I then looked to see where my opponent was and saw that he was still around. Now it had its assault rifle back out except it started to change into what looked like a sniping mode. It then fired a charged shot at my knightmare. Holding the radiation wave arm in front of me, I activated it again to form a radiation wall around my hand and used that to protect myself from the attack. Even though I managed to catch the attack with my radiation arm, the charged shot still blew up and destroyed the fingers on my knightmare's arm. Now I know how it was able to destroy those containers earlier. But that was only a minor problem; I needed to get out of here before Britannian reinforcements came.

I will give my adversary the tactical victory for now. I released some chaffsmoke from my knightmare which disrupts the IFF signals and immediately retreated from the area. The enemy knightmare tried to give chase after me in the smoke but it suddenly stopped, as if it ran out of energy or something. Well, I do know one thing; whoever was operating that thing sure was an excellent pilot. And this probably wasn't going to be the last time I face that knightmare.

I eventually got out of the port area and headed back to the ghettos except I went to a different underground hideout just in case the military somehow was able to follow me.

After that, the battle was officially over. We had succeeded in hitting Cornelia's army, but we had failed to rescue General Katase, which should have been our first priority. It was said that he had heroically committed suicide by detonating the Sakuradite stored on his ship. Also, there were rumors that Zero had gotten injured during the fighting, as he had yet to be seen back at the hideout. C.C. had given the order to withdraw, so the losses of the Black Knights had been slight and less significant than expected but, in the end, we had failed to capture Cornelia.

(Third Person View)

Back in the lounge of the Black Knights hideout, Kallen and Ohgi began to reflect on what happened during the battle at the port.

"Is Zero alright…?" Kallen said with a worried look on her face.

"C.C. is with him. He will be fine if we leave it to her." Ohgi said to her.

"I suppose…what about Rai? I didn't see him retreating with us at the escape route."

"He was busy fighting a knightmare to ensure the escape route was open for us. According to the reports, it was similar to the White Knightmare except it had blue trims on it."

"What, another one of those damn machines…Is Britannia trying to mass produce that thing?"

"If that is true then things are going to get difficult for us in the future."

"In that case I will just have to destroy every single one of them!" Kallen promptly said.

When Suzaku returned to the Camelot hanger he noticed that there was another knightmare similar to his being carried into the hanger as well. Suzaku began to wonder why there was a Lancelot look-alike so he asked Cecile when he got out of his frame.

"Miss Cecile, what kind of knightmare is that?"

"Oh, this is the Z-01b Lancelot Club…A seventh generation prototype knightmare just like yours. You could called it the Lancelot's brother unit."

"I see…so who is the pilot of the Lan…" Suzaku was then interrupted by Lloyd who screamed out in joy at seeing the Lancelot Club.

"My Lancelot Club has safely returned I see! And it also gave me some valuable data as well. What did you say your name is again?"

Suzaku and Cecile then looked over at the cockpit of the Lancelot Club to see a boy about the same age as Suzaku with a light colored blondish-brown hair and dark brown eyes coming out of the cockpit. He then walked over to Suzaku, Lloyd and Cecile and properly introduced himself while saluting to the three of them.

"Sir, first I would like to say that it is an honor to be working with the Camelot Crew. I am from the Knight of Nine's royal guard and was also previously from the royal guard of the eighty-eight princess of the Imperial Family. My name is…Michael Steinberg."

Moving on to the next Stage…


	16. Back Stage 2

Code Geass: Colorless Memories Redux

Back Stage 14.9: Two Chatty Generals

As Andreas Darlton walked down the hallway of Britannia military's headquarters he let out a weary sigh before commenting to himself.

"Sigh…Finally, everything is done for today…I can relax for a little while…"

Darlton then approached a door at the end of the hallway and opened it, which lead to the lounge. There, he discovered that Gilbert GP Gilford was sitting alone in a chair with a glassed beverage in his hand.

"Ah, so you have finally returned General Darlton. Can I assume that you managed to complete your assignment?" Guilford was the first to speak.

"Of course; I even already sent in my report to Viceroy Cornelia. We will most likely hear more about it in the morning." Darlton responded with a gruff tone in his voice.

"Excellent, as always. Then in the meantime how about we relax and talk about it for awhile. It's rare for us to be off duty at the same time. I even already prepared a drink for you." Guilford suggested as he handed a glass of lagar to Darlton.

"Heh, don't mind if I do. Who knows when the time will come when I can take time to relax again."

After Darlton accepted the glassed beverage from Guilford the two sat down on separate chairs and engaged in conversation with one another.

"So the former lieutenant colonel, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, has finally been captured now huh. That's one less thing to worry about now. With him in custody the JLF is officially disbanded now." Guilford said with a sigh of relief.

"Yes, it was difficult to track them down, but we were successfully able to find Kyoshiro Tohdoh and force him to surrender. He's currently being held in the Choufu Base." Darlton said as he took a sip of his drink."

"I wonder what the top brass will charge him with." Guilford mused.

"Probably execution…Considering how much of a threat he was. It's not something Cornelia would agree with but you know how the higher ups are." Darlton responded.

"Hmph…It's not my place to say this but…They only do that to instill fear in the Numbers and make themselves look powerful when it's us in the military who has to go out and deal with these protesters and terrorists."

"Yes well, even with the JLF gone we will still have to deal with plenty of others like the Black Knights, who by the way, even attempted to disrupt my operation today."

"The Black Knights huh…They have been quiet for awhile now but I should have figured they would try to interfere. Makes me kind of wished I joined your operation today."

"It couldn't be helped. Because of the Black Knights they have been more reports of terrorist activity across Area 11. You, as well as the Viceroy had to go and deal with them. It was fine though, I already assumed somebody would try to interfere so I had that bunch from the Camelot come with me."

"The Eleven pilot Suzaku Kururugi huh?" Guilford was stern when he mentioned the pilot of the Lancelot.

"Not only that but they also have another pilot operating one of their prototypes."

"Ah, and who is the pilot of this knightmare, if I may ask?" Guilford questioned.

"The pilot is a young man about the same age as Warrant Officer Kururugi. His name is Michael Steinburg."

"Steinburg eh…? I believe I heard about him before. His father was a Viscount but he as well as the boy's mother was killed from an explosion in Area 6 if I remember correctly. I don't believe they ever found the cause of that explosion either."

"Who knows…Maybe the Office of Secret Intelligence found a cold dead end and gave up on it. Still I can't help but feel sorry for the young lad. It happened some time before he entered the military academy."

Darlton then stopped and lamented for a moment.

"It made me wish I knew about his situation sooner. If I did I might have opted to take him in myself like those other boys I found."

Darlton then paused and smiled for a moment as he recollected a memory from his past.

"Heh, you still remember the time you found them all, don't you?" Guilford said with a chuckle.

"Oh, yes I indeed remember. That was before I was assigned to Princess Cornelia's unit and I was still a Major-General. On that day I remembered being sent to Area 4 with the Knight of Eight himself on an assignment. On our way back we were resting in a nearby city when we heard of an attack at a small private elementary school. It happened while the school was hosting some kind of event. Our group decided to join the police force stationed there and we all went out together. When we arrived we learned the damages were severe. There were at least one thousand people attending the event and at least three hundred thirty-four of them were reported dead or injured. Amongst them five boys, who were all already friends, lost their parents in the attack."

Darlton stopped speaking for a moment to take another sip of his drink before continuing his tale.

"To this day I still don't know what overcame me. I felt sorrow for what happened to those kids, especially after learning later that they came from families that made low income. I mulled over it for several days and eventually decided that I would take them in myself, especially since my wife and I never had any kids to call our own. After speaking to her about it I told the Knight of Eight my plan and to my surprise he supported my idea. After all, I came to know to him as a kind and respectful person. So after I took action and after speaking to each kid one-on-one it was decided that those five boys would be adopted into the Darlton family. They have each grown and I am proud to see them all working hard as part of the Glaston Knights."

"Speaking of which I heard that your boys are making plans to be transfer to Area 11…I believe their duties in helping establishing Area 18 is almost finished. I'm sure you are looking forward to seeing them soon." Guilford said with a pleased look on his face.

"Oh indeed I am. I am looking forward to hearing their accomplishments in Area 18. It makes me wish even more that I could have done something for the Steinburg kid." Darlton said with a smile across his rugged face.

"You know, speaking of the Steinburg kid he was a member of the Knight of Nine's unit before transferring to the Camelot crew wasn't he? That would explain why I saw Nonnette Enneagram around here recently." Guilford said as he started to change the subject.

"Ah, yes I recently ran into her as well. When I asked her why she came to Area 11 she simply responded by saying she was bored and that the recent activities occurring in Area 11 has sparked her interest; also in her words, she felt like bugging Cornelia."

"Honestly, I sometimes wonder how she got herself into the Knights of the Round."

"Oh come on now. Sure, she is a bit wild every now and then but she does her job well. Her skill with piloting knightmares is second only to the Knight of One himself. Besides, she is perhaps one of the very few who can get away with picking on Princess Cornelia herself."

"Truth be told, I find that disrespectful towards the Second Princess if I do say so myself." Guilford angrily replied while taking a gulp of his drink.

Darlton simply responded with a deep laughter.

"Haha, if that rubs you the wrong way then let me tell you this. Did you know that Nonnette was Cornelia's senior back when they were in the military academy? Not only that but the Knight of Nine herself was known to be quite a bully towards everyone, especially towards Cornelia?"

Hearing that caused Guilford to become more frustrated as he closed his eyes and formed a fist with his hands.

"Honestly, how in the world did she manage to get away with bullying not only students from the high class but also with a person from royalty? And to top it off she now serves directly under the Emperor!"

"Ah, but that is the world we live in Guilford. But still, you are quite devoted to Cornelia, aren't you Guilford?"

"Of course, I deeply respect her; both as a member of royalty and as a person. I feel honored to serve under her as her knight and I will do anything to it that see is safe from harm, even though Princess Cornelia is more than capable of defending her, I…"

"Haha, My my, what devotion you have!" Darlton responded with laughter.

The two men continued to talk amongst themselves until Darlton looked down at his watch and noticed it was close to midnight.

"Oh my, it is awfully late. Should we end our chat here and call it a night?" Darlton suggested.

"I agree…Tomorrow we will be back to our usual duties. Still, I enjoyed talking with you tonight General Darlton."

"As did I, General Guilford. Now these days I rarely get the time to sit idly like tonight and drink and chat with someone else. But I shouldn't keep you up much longer. Besides, I heard that tomorrow you will have to set out with Viceroy Cornelia and assist her in 'sweeping' terrorist activities in the Ishikawa ghetto. There have been reports that a group of Elevens are planning something. You should remain cautious."

"I'm sure everything will go smoothly. After all when has our Lady Cornelia ever lost a battle against Britannia's enemy?"

"Ha, you make a good point!"

"Besides, I am more worried about Princess Cornelia herself. She is desperately working hard to purge Area 11 of these terrorists, all for Sub-Viceroy Euphemia, her sister."

"She is still planning on putting Euphemia in charge of Area 11 as the future Viceroy?" Darlton queried.

"Well, that is still something being discussed and only people in Cornelia's inner circle of people know about. Besides, you and I both know that Princess Cornelia prefer to be out on the battlefield fighting instead of being inside an office doing paperwork."

"Yes, it is something I'm both looking forward to and not looking forward to at the same time."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Well, let's just say that if it does get approved I will be looking forward to it because then I will personally get to see Princess Euphemia's growth. After all, both Cornelia and I have been trying to teach her the duties and responsibilities of being a Viceroy as well as how to act accordingly when attacking or being attacked by an enemy force. Also, Cornelia has offered me and the Glaston Knights the opportunity to watch after her sister and keep her safe if that time does arise."

"Of course, that could very well change over the course of time." Guilford added in.

After the two men finished drinking their last glass of lager they both bid farewell to each other and retired for the night.

Moving back to the Main Stage…


	17. Stage 15

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 15: The Mysterious Question

"Thank you for all your hard work today Rai." Milly said as I finished stacking up chairs in the school auditorium.

"This is the last thing I needed to do for you today isn't it?" I asked her.

"Yep, you are free to go now. Although…"

"Although…?"

"It is nice to see you back at school again. For a while there I barely saw you after classes. But recently you stopped going out into the settlement and spend most of your time in the student council room with the other members."

"Well…that's because there is nothing really interesting going on in the settlement right now. And besides, you are practically letting me stay here at this school for free. Doing work for the student council is pretty much my only way to repay you for your kindness."

"Oh stop, you are going to make me blush Rai."

"Sorry…"

"Oh don't be. I will see you tomorrow Rai."

"Yeah, see you later."

I then watched Milly as she exited out the doors of the gymnasium.

In actuality though doing student council work was the only thing I could do right now. Ever since that battle at the port Zero never returned to the Black Knights hideout. He was hiding out somewhere and recovering from that last battle. According to the reports Zero and his Burai got badly beaten by that White Knightmare. Since Zero never returned and only communicates by calling Ohgi or Diethard our activities have been severely reduced. Because of that there wasn't really anything for me to do out in the hideouts so I stopped going there and remained at Ashford for the past few days.

The only time I went out was when Kyoto sent us a request at the last minute to go provide backup for the sole remainder of the JLF at Aichi Ghettos. Kallen called me to get out to the hideout as quickly as possible so we could go. Because the request came on such a short notice when we did arrive the Britannian Military had already finished off most of what was left of the JLF. When we received news from Diethard that Tohdoh got captured we had no choice but to retreat. That was the second time we failed to protect the JLF. Afterwards I continued to stay at Ashford.

I left the auditorium and noticed it was already dark outside as the moon began to glow brightly in the night sky. I started to head for the clubhouse when I saw Lelouch standing near the riverbank while holding something in his hands. I quietly approached Lelouch without letting him know that I was there and saw that he had a red notebook and a lighter. I quickly recognized that the notebook he was holding looked very similar to the dairy I helped Shirley buy a while back. The next thing I knew Lelouch started to burn the notebook with the lighter. Why in the world was he doing that? I decided to call out to him.

"Hey Lelouch, what are you doing over there?" I yelled out as I approached him.

Lelouch seemed to be shocked when he heard my voice and immediately threw the burning notebook into a nearby empty trash can.

"Oh, good evening Rai. What might you be doing out here this late?" Lelouch said as he regained his cool composed posture.

"I could ask you the same thing. But I was just coming back from helping Milly with some student council work. You know…the school festival is coming up."

"Ah yes, I see…the school festival."

"But I was wondering…that book you were burning, that wouldn't happen to be Shirley's diary now would it?"

"Hmmm…What makes you say that?" Lelouch said with a stern look on his face.

"That notebook you were burning looked very similar to a diary I help Shirley picked out some time ago."

"Oh, is that so…but I'm sorry to say that you are incorrect this time. You see, I was burning an old journal I used to use to record events for the student council. But since I got them all listed down on my laptop I don't need it anymore."

"I see, I think I understand."

Even though I said that I couldn't help but feel that notebook I saw was actually Shirley's. I also felt that Lelouch was trying to hide something from me. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

"Hey, you haven't eaten supper yet have you? If you want, you can eat with me and Nunnally tonight." Lelouch said inviting me in.

I then remember Nunnally telling me that I was free to come eat with them anytime I wished to.

"Huh, oh okay, I guess I will accept your offer." I said with a surprised look on my face.

I definitely wasn't expecting him to ask me to eat supper with him and his sister.

"Really, that's great. Nunnally and I don't really get that many visitors so I think she will be happy to have you join us tonight."

Lelouch then started to walk back to the clubhouse. I took a quick look inside the trash can and saw that the notebook had already burned to ashes. I then hurriedly follow after Lelouch as we both entered the dining room.

"Oh, is that you big brother? Welcome home!" Nunnally cheerfully said as she welcomed Lelouch into the room.

"Good evening, Master Lelouch." Nunnally's maid Sayoko said.

"Yeah, it's good to be back home Nunnally, Sayoko. I even brought a guest with me tonight."

"Hello there." I spoke out to her.

"Oh, hello there Rai. It's nice to see you again." Nunnally said to me.

"Sayoko, can you prepare three bowls for us and some tea as well?" Lelouch asked his maid.

"Sure thing, I will prepare it ready right away." Sayoko said as she bowed towards him and then headed off for the kitchen.

While Nunnally sat at the head of the table Lelouch sat in the chair to her right while I sat two chairs down from her left. Sayoko then came out with three bowls of soup and placed them on the table in front of the three of us. As the three of us ate supper we started to have a conversation.

"Hey Rai, do you know about the Black Knights?" Nunnally asked me.

"Huh…y-yeah…I heard about them." I tensed up for a moment when Nunnally said the Black Knights.

"Lately, I have been hearing several things about them on the news…It's a bit scary."

"Scary, huh…"

"Yeah, a lot of incidents have been happening, and at this rate everyone won't be able to live in a peaceful set of mind. They might be called chivalrous criminals, but there are also several people who just want to live here in peace as well. I understand their point of view but…I think it would be best if things could be resolved more peacefully."

"Yes, it would be best if things could be resolved like that." Lelouch said as he joined in on our conversation.

"I would like to talk to Zero myself, while drinking tea…If we did that, I have the feeling we would have a peaceful conversation."

"Yes, I think Zero would be very willing to accept your offer. If only he knew that you existed…" Lelouch calmly said as he placed his hand on top of hers.

As I saw that display I suddenly sensed something coming over me. I instinctively shifted my head away from them out of feeling sheer embarrassment, or maybe it was because of sadness. I didn't know.

Afterwards I quickly finished my supper and I bid farewell to Lelouch and Nunnally.

When I returned to my room I laid down on my bed and got ready to go to sleep.

As I was resting I started to dream.

I found myself standing in the foyer of an unknown building. It was all white and bright around my entire surroundings. I cautious veered around my current location. What was going to happen?

Before I could move anywhere though I noticed a human-like figure appeared in front of me out of nowhere. Where did they come from?

I only thought it was a human figure because I couldn't discern any unique features about them other than they were shorter than me. The entire body that appeared seemed to have been blacked out by a dark highlighter or something.

Before I could say anything the figure in front of me started to speak out.

" _Hey, can I ask you something?"_ The voice said. It sounded like that of a child.

"H-Huh…?"

I was at a lost for words. I didn't know what was going on.

" _What do you want to be when you grow up?"_ The voice asked.

"W-What…What do you mean by that?" I replied back.

" _Haha…I knew you would say that. It sounds just like you to want to become…"_

I lost track of what they were about to say at the end. However, it was at that moment that I realize the figure in front of me wasn't communicating with me. I quickly turned my head around and searched my surroundings but there wasn't anyone else but the two of us. I then heard the mysteriously person continued speaking about something.

" _As for me, I think I want to be a…that way I will be about to…"_

Fragments of their words continue to evade my ears.

"I'm sorry, what did you say now? And speaking of which, why do I suddenly feel like I heard your voice somewhere before?"

The more I let the sound of their voice sink into my head, the more my brain tries to bring out an image of their real face. However, I couldn't produce a result. Do I know this person from somewhere? For some reason I felt like I was asked this question before.

I felt my anxiety slowly overcoming me. I felt nervous for some reason. Was it because I'm trying to remember something important but couldn't for some reason.

I then suddenly stretched my arm out without thinking and tried to touch the shadowy figure in front of me. However, as I did so the mysterious figure quickly vanished in front of my eyes. I was mystified at what just happened as I stood in the white room all alone. Soon everything started to fade away.

When I found myself conscious again I was laying down in my own bed. Sunlight was peeking its way through my curtain signifying me it was morning. I slowly got up and started to rub my eyes. As I did so I couldn't stop but think about that dream. Something about that dream kept bugging me, more importantly, what that shadowy blank figure said.

" _What do you want to be when you grow up?"_

I couldn't help but continue to think about it.

Later that day I entered the student council room with a bunch of paperwork I recently finished. No one else was around right now so I just placed my papers on the table and took a seat in a chair while I took a breather. As I relaxed in silence I looked at Arthur the cat, who was messing with someone's pouch that was lying on the floor. It must have belonged to Milly, Shirley, Nina, or Kallen.

As I continued to watch Arthur's antics I heard the door open. I turned around and saw Suzaku Kururugi enter with his own pile of paperwork. After he set his stack of papers down he looked at me and smiled.

"Hey Rai, how are you doing?"

I just stared back at him with a cautious look on my face.

"I'm doing alright, and you?"

"I guess I'm well too. Is it just you in here?" Suzaku asked as he looked around the near empty student council room.

"Yeah." I gave a simple reply.

"Oh well, I guess it will just be the two of us in here for now. It felt like it has been a long time since we chatted." Suzaku said as he pulled up a chair and seated himself next to me.

"It can't be helped. You got your duties with the military and I…"

I then cut myself off midsentence once I realized who I was talking to.

"And you are still searching for your missing memories, right. Have you found any success yet with that?" Suzaku finished my question for me and then threw another one at me.

"No…" I silently replied as I looked down with my eyes half closed.

"Hey, are you alright Rai?" I heard Suzaku ask.

I looked back over at him and saw that he had a genuine worried look on his face.

"…I'm fine. I have been thinking about something recently, that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it? You know that I am always willing to hear you out." Suzaku reassuringly proclaimed.

I just paused for a moment to think about what he just said. Would it really be okay to talk to someone like him about it?

"Okay, fine. Now, I hope this isn't too personal of thing to talk about but…Is there anything you plan on becoming or accomplishing in your future?"

After I asked my question I noticed Suzaku was silent. He appeared to have been bewildered by my question.

"…You know what, never mind. It was a stupid question to ask." I said as I quickly tried to wave the question away.

"No, its fine, I will tell you. I just never thought you would ask a question like that." Suzaku replied as he gave a reassuring smile.

He then sat straight up in chair before he continued speaking.

"It's something I don't really talk about with others but if it helps you regain your memories I don't mind sharing it. Now, I am sure you understand the current state of Area 11 between the Britannians and Elevens right?" Suzakus started to say.

"Yeah."

"Well, being an Eleven myself I feel a strong need to help out my people. That is why I joined the Britannian Military. To find a solution that doesn't involve violent acts such as rebellion or terrorism. I will admit however that I haven't made much progress so far, given my current position and all. But recently I met someone who has given me hope that, no matter how many people think my ideals are silly, she made me believe that I can bridge a path where Britannians and Elevens can coexist peacefully together. I still don't know how I can do that but I want to believe that I will somehow find a way to do so."

I just stood there in silence while Suzaku talked. I didn't know this conversation was going to get that deep. He must have realized this too and stood up after he finished up his last sentence.

"Anyways, I think that's enough of my rambling." Suzaku said as he started to stand up.

I decided to stand up with him.

"I just realized I promised Lelouch and Nunnally that I would hang out with them later this afternoon. I'm sorry to leave you like this but…"

"Meeowwahhh…!"

Before Suzaku finished his sentence we heard the screams of a cat. We both instinctively knew it was Arthur. I went ahead of Suzaku to go check on the cat on the other end of the table.

I looked down and saw the cat cautiously standing next to the pouch it was playing with earlier. However, I was shocked with what I saw sticking out of the pouch. It was a razor sharp knife. I then instinctively knew whose pouch this belonged to now.

" _How careless of her…"_ I said underneath my breath.

"Hey, what got Arthur so riled up over there?" I heard Suzaku ask from behind me.

I looked over and noticed Suzaku was getting ready to head to my location from the other end of the table. I couldn't let him see this.

"Don't come over here!" I shouted as I held my hand out in front of my body.

I then raised my left foot up and pressed down on floor right next to the pouch. The next thing I did was carefully slid my foot across the floor and hid the pouch underneath the table in a spot where Suzaku wouldn't see.

"Phew…never mind, it was just a spider." I said as I let out a fake sigh of relief.

I then went back over to where Suzaku was. Hopefully I was able to dupe him and he won't try to search the area.

"Well, if you say so. I wouldn't expect Arthur to be scared by a spider considering…ow…!"

Before Suzaku finished his sentence he closed his eyes as if he was in pain. I looked down and noticed the cat now had its teeth seethed into Suzaku's lower ankle.

"…Considering he has no qualms attacking me. In any case, I enjoyed spending our time together. We should get together like this again sometime and talk some more."

"Yeah, sure."

"In fact, maybe all of us in student council should get together and hang out somewhere in the settlement." Suzaku happily suggested.

"I don't know…whenever all of us have the chance to I guess…"

Afterwards Suzaku bid me farewell and left the room, leaving me with just Arthur. Once I knew he was gone I went back and grabbed the pouch underneath the table and placed it in my pocket. I knew that it belongs to Kallen now. I will have to make sure to return it to her the next time I see her. In the meantime I think I will hang around here for a while.

Two hours later I received a call from Ohgi asking me to come out to the hideout later today. Apparently Zero was going to be coming back tonight and we will be heading out on a new mission. After finishing his call I went to my room to pick up my Black Knights stuff and placed them into my bag. I then walked out of my room and was about to leave the Ashford grounds when a Britannian officer approached me. It was a woman with indigo colored hair. If I remember correctly her name was Cecile.

"Excuse me, but you are one of Suzaku's friends aren't you?" Cecile asked me.

"Yes, I am." I replied.

"Can you tell me where he is? We need him right now for something important." Cecile said wondering where Suzaku was.

"Oh, Suzaku…he's over there in front of the clubhouse." I said as I pointed towards the clubhouse where Suzaku was sitting with Nunnally and Lelouch.

"I see him now…Thank you." Cecile said as she headed towards the clubhouse.

I waved farewell to her and then continued on my way to the Black Knights hideout.

While everyone was getting everything ready for tonight's operation I was sitting down with Kallen who was wearing her new pilot uniform for her Guren. Tonight we were going to join up with the Four Holy Swords and go on a rescue operation to save Colonel Tohdoh at the Choufu Base who was going to be executed tonight.

Apparently he recently got captured by the Britannian Military and gave himself up to save his crew. The Black Knights got a call from Kyoto to give aid to them but since the call came so late and without Zero around our forces was quickly and clumsily organized. The White Knightmares were also there and stalled our forces long enough for the Britannian military to complete their objective. I had no idea this happened as I was at Ashford the last few days.

However, tonight I was going to make sure to give it my all.

"Hey Rai, I was wondering about something." Kallen spoke out to me.

"Huh…uh yes, what is it?"

"I have been looking at your battle data for the Proto-Gekka and I noticed that you use your sword more than you do the Radiation Surger. Even though the Radiation Surger is a more powerful weapon why do you insist on using your sword?"

"Hmm…I don't know…that's a good question."

I then thought about it for a moment.

"Well I guess it's kind of like this…whenever I think of a weapon I imagine a sword forming itself in my mind."

"So that means your weapon of choice would be a sword huh. I guess that makes sense."

Kallen then got up and was ready to check of her Guren's status until I stopped her.

"H-Hey, Kallen, can I ask you something real fast?" I said with my arm stretched out.

"Hmm…Yeah, what is it?"

Kallen turned around with a puzzled look on her face.

"…If you don't mind me asking I was wondering…what do you want to be in the future?"

"Huh…That's…"

Kallen seemed to have become more confused and flustered by my question.

"Okay, let me put it like this, what do you plan to accomplish in the future?" I reworded my sentence.

"What…You should already know what I plan to do…I'm going to get our country back from the Britannians and bring peace to all of us Japanese no matter what I have to do."

"No matter what huh…?"

"Yes, even if that means getting rid of all the Britannians. Geezs Rai, I thought you would know that by now. Are you alright?"

"Hmm…? Yes, of course I am alri…"

"Hello there, sorry for interrupting your conversation by you are Rai correct?"

Before I could finish my sentence a voice came out of nowhere. I look over from where the voice came from and saw four people in military uniforms were standing before us.

"Huh, uh, yes, I am." I replied back.

"Wow, it's the Four Holy Swords themselves!" Kallen said with surprise.

"We would like to ask a favor from you before we begin our operation to rescue Colonel Tohdoh." Asahina said.

"…What do you need from me?"

"Before we pilot our Gekka units we were hoping you would give us some pointers on how to pilot them correctly before we enter the upcoming battle. Your commander Zero told us that we should come to you for assistance on this since you pilot the pre-production version." Senba said to me.

"We would really appreciate you telling us everything you know about the Gekka." Chiba said.

"Umm…I don't mind but…" I then turned to Kallen and she just waved her hand forward.

"Go ahead Rai…I need to go check on my Guren anyways." Kallen then got up and headed for her machine. It seems my conversation with her was officially over for now.

"Well, I will try my best to show you everything I know."

The Four Holy Swords members were then excited and thanked me for deciding to help them. I then followed the Four Holy Swords and went over to where their Gekkas was. Unlike the Proto-Gekka, the mass production model of the Gekka was colored gray and was missing the Radiation Surger arm. Instead, it just had a normal hand manipulator. I then began telling and showing them how to operate and the special specs of the Gekka. Because the Four Holy Swords were all veteran soldiers though they were quickly able to figure everything out about the Gekka. If fact, there wasn't really much for me to say.

Once I was finished helping them I heard Kallen, whose Guren was nearby, talking out loud to herself.

"Geezs, where in the world did my pouch go?"

When I heard that I quickly realized something and face palmed myself. I forgot to bring that with me. Her pouch was still sitting back in my room at the academy. I will have to make double sure not to forget and return that to her next time.

Meanwhile, the preparations for the operation steadily progressed and soon Zero joined us and helped work out the specifics of the plan. This plan, simply narrowed down to the objective of rescuing Colonel Tohdoh, was bold. The Four Holy Swords would break through the front gate in their Gekka units in order to attract the attention of the forces inside the base. Meanwhile, Zero and Kallen in her Guren will go rescue Tohdoh. The Black Knights would provide support until the Four Holy Swords broke in, and then after Colonel Tohdoh's rescue he will board the frame we bring in for him and we would withdraw while being given support. Moreover, the absence of Cornelia's main forces in order to suppress the armed revolt in Ishikawa Ghetto was another good sign for the operation. I was in charge of taking care of the enemy forces around the circumference before the start of the operation.

"Rai, are you listening?"

While standing-by inside my cockpit I received a communication from Rakshata in the command car.

"Please try to test out the limits of the Radiation Wave as far as you can. I want data from it you hear me, the data."

"Yes, I understand."

"Rai, it's time for you to begin your part of the plan…Move out!" Zero said to me over the intercom.

"Right, I am heading out."

I rushed out of the trailer I had been standing-by in and caused an uproar on the main street that lead to the base's front gate. The street was full of military trucks which seemed to be bringing supplies to the base, waiting in line at the gate's checkpoint. I applied my Radiation wave on the rank and file trucks as I moved along the roadside. The high frequency attack showered over the trucks. They all instantly exploded from within and blew up one by one in a blazing fire.

As I approached the gate two of the Sutherlands who were guarding the gate came forward.

Underestimating me because I only had one frame they had commenced a careless charge without any strategy whatsoever. These people weren't anywhere near the skill level of Cornelia's personal forces. While avoiding the enemy fire I came up to one of the Sutherlands, grabbed the frame, and used my Radiation Wave on it. The upper part of its frames expanded and exploded after a second of delay.

The other Sutherland activated its stun tonfa and mindlessly charged at me. I drew my sword and clashed its stun tonfa with my sword. I then pushed the Sutherland back and then lunged forward to grab it with my Radiation surger. I then activated the Radiation Wave to destroy that frame as well. Soon after four more Sutherlands then came charging in. These must be the remaining guards on this side of the base. I immediately retreated in an attempt in to draw them away from the gate.

Checking my radar it seemed as if the gate had become practically deserted, just as planned. Taking along my pursuers this way as they chase after me, I drove fast down the road. Once I thought we were far enough I swiftly turned my frame around and slashed right through the Sutherland that was closest to me with my knightmare's sword. Immediately after that I fired my slash harken at another Sutherland and dragged it down to the ground. The remaining two Sutherlands stopped and began firing their assault rifles at me. I made the Proto-Gekka jump through the bullets and then shot the head of one of the Sutherlands off using the handgun. I then sliced through the Sutherland with my sword. For the last one I just quickly grabbed it with my left arm and used the Radiation Wave after dodging its stun tonfa to finish it off. I quickly contacted Zero soon after.

"Zero, this area has been cleared."

"Excellent, swift as always, we will move to the next step then…Head in now!" Zero yelled out to the Four Holy Swords.

Since my duty was finished here I returned to the trailer where Rakshata and her crew were.

"Thank you very much for all your hard work. I've gotten some good data. And also, things have started to get interesting." Rakshata said as she saw me walk into the trailer.

"Interesting…?" I wondered what she meant by that.

I looked over and saw an image was forwarded to the monitor. It showed the battle situation here inside Choufu base. On the screen I saw Zero's Burai, Kallen's Guren and the four Gekkas being used by the Four Holy Swords. Colonel Tohdoh also seems to have been rescued and joined the battle as well in his black customized Gekka. They seemed to currently be in battle with…

"The White Knightmares…" I said underneath my breath.

Indeed, it appeared to be a battle between the strongest knightmares belonging to both sides. And even though it was seven to two, the two white knightmare appear to be holding their own despite the disadvantage in numbers.

"Hmph…My Guren and Gekka together are just as good as those two frames…Something like those White Knightmares are so mortifying." I heard Rakshata boasting.

Even though those two knightmares are here Kallen and the Four Holy Swords should be able to deal with them. I don't think there was any need for me to head out there so I just remained in the trailer and kept watching.

A while into the battle I noticed Zero started instructing our allies currently in battle to start taking formations. He used Kallen, Urabe and Senba to lure the blue trimmed knightmare away from the golden trimmed frame and had it isolated. I then saw Tohdoh's frame coming out of a nearby corner and approached the golden trimmed knightmare from behind.

" _And with that…I call checkmate!"_ I heard Zero proclaim over the intercom, assured of his victory.

Tohdoh then attempted several jabs at the enemy knightmare but it kept dodging until the top hatch of the cockpit was struck.

 _"Who dares anticipate my moves…No matter!"_ Tohdoh shouted.

He then ripped the top part of the cockpit off which revealed the pilot of the white knightmare to be none other than…Suzaku Kururugi.

I was taken aback at what I just witnessed. I didn't know what to think or do. All this time, the one piloting Britannia's white knightmare was an Eleven. Not only that, but it was someone I knew, someone I saw and talked to almost every day at school.

My feet started to take a few steps back as if to escape from this reality suddenly revealed to me.

This sudden revelation also seemed to be a shock to those out on the battlefield as they started bickering amongst themselves.

 _"Zero, what should we do…capture him or… Zero!"_ Kallen cried out wanting Zero to give an order.

 _"We are destroying the White Knightmares, you got that!"_ Senba yelled out.

 _"Wait for Zero's orders!"_ Kallen insisted.

 _"We are not waiting for Zero! Don't you remember, we only follow Colonel Tohdoh's orders."_ Chiba said.

 _"Don't do it!"_ Kallen yelled out.

 _"No wait, stand down!"_ Zero commanded as he finally came back to his senses.

 _"Don't worry…we can handle it from here."_ Asahina said as the five Gekka frames charged towards the twin knightmares.

Ignoring Zero's orders, Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords formed their signature formation and headed after the two white knightmares. However, they were quickly repeled and Senba's frame was damaged in the process. The Four Holy Swords soon tried to quickly formulate another plan until Zero interfered.

 _"Stop it! We are done enough fighting for now. We achieved our objective here. Use escape route three. Withdraw immediately!"_ Zero order resounded.

Tohdoh then noticed Briatannian reinforcement arriving from the sky.

 _"An unwinnable battle is not the same as a lost battle. You seem to be very well aware of that Zero."_ Tohdoh said as the five Gekka frames released chaffsmoke and made their exit.

They were able to successfully make their escape.

Location: Black Knight's Hideout

The operation had been a success. We had rescued Colonel Tohdoh. However…

When we all got back from the operation I saw Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords get out of their Gekka units and heading for the lounge. They were probably going to take a break from the last operation. I then looked over at the Guren and saw Kallen standing in front of it. She seemed dumbstruck about something. I decided to walk over there and speak with her.

"Rai…" Kallen said as she called out my name.

"Yes, Kallen…"

"Did you hear…about Suzaku?"

"Yes, I saw it all from Rakshata's monitors. Suzaku is the pilot of one of those White Knightmares isn't he. Hey, are you okay?"

"I can't believe…Suzaku is…We will have to fight him again, won't we?"

"…Yeah, I believe so. I don't think there is any way to avoid that truth."

Even I knew that much.

"I'm sorry…I understand…I understand, but…Together, let's fight together…you and I, for the future of Japan."

I hesitated for a moment before speaking up.

"…Yeah…together…"

I then saw Zero get out of his Burai and started to head for his office. I bid farewell to Kallen and went to go speak with Zero. I stood in front of his door and knocked.

"Hey Zero, can I come in?"

"Sure, come on in."

When I entered the room, Zero was sitting in his chair as usual.

"You and Kallen are both close to Kururugi Suzaku at Ashford Academy aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"I myself started laughing uncontrollably when I found out. Did you know, he is the son of Japan's last prime minister, Kururugi Genbu, yet he fights with Britannia for the sake of Japan and stands in our way. It's hilarious isn't it? However, if he continues to stands in our way, we must get rid of him."

"Yeah, I'm already aware of that."

"It's true that the White Knightmares are strong. But I am not worried. Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords have joined up with us, and we already have Kallen and her Guren as well as you. I'm sure we will all be okay."

I didn't say anything and just stood there in silence. Zero must have noticed the strange silent atmosphere I brought and spoke up.

"Hmm…? Is something the matter? You seem to be thinking about something."

"Huh…Oh I uh…it's nothing that important, really." I tried to reassuringly say.

"Hmph…there is no need for you to be reserved around me. Go ahead and speak your mind. I will listen." Zero said with confidence in his voice.

I hesitated and stared at the ground for a moment before looking back up at Zero and speaking my mind.

"…Well…It's just that…I have been thinking about the future lately."

Zero just simply laughed after I said that.

"Ha, now that wasn't something I expected you to say. You, someone who has been wondering about his past, now thinking about the future? Rai, you really are a comedian sometimes, you know that?"

I just simply turned away in embarrassment from Zero's response.

"Yeah, well…What I meant by that was what was I trying to become before I lost my memories. Who am I, did I have any goals I was trying to accomplish, and if so, was it anything similar to what I'm doing right now to help you guys in the Black Knights?"

"Hmm…you make an interesting point. However, I honestly don't know the answer to your questions. There is too much we all still don't know about you. With that said though, the fact that you aligned yourself with us in the Black Knights must say something about your true self. I don't think your subconscious would have allowed it otherwise, am I wrong?"

"…That's true."

"In any case, that is all still irrelevant right now. I'm sure the time will eventually come when you will discover the answers you seek. Until then, do not forget that you are not alone in this ordeal."

"Alone…" The word seemed to have become stuck in my mind for a moment.

"Yes, don't forget that we in the Black Knights are here to help you out. Not only that, but I'm sure there are even people at your school that are supporting you. Don't worry, we all got your back."

"R-Right…I mean, thank you." I sincerely replied.

Zero just simply laughed at my response.

"Hmph…but of course. I am your leader after all. And it is a leader's duty to look after his subordinates. Speaking of which, I have heard that Rakshata and Kyoto are almost done running their tests. I hope the results will shed some light about you. Until then, I will still be counting on you, Rai."

"…Of course. Well then, if you will excuse me…I think I will leave you alone now." I said as I turned around and began heading for the door.

However, before I could exit I was stopped by Zero's voice.

"Oh yes, I forgot to mention this but I believe Colonel Tohdoh wishes to have a word with you."

"Huh, with me…what for?" I said as I turned to face Zero.

"I don't know, but I believe he and the Four Holy Swords are resting in the lounge right now."

"In that case I guess I will go see them then."

I then left Zero's room and went to the lounge.

Moving on to the next Stage…


	18. Stage 16

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 16: Disaster on Shikine

When I entered the lounge I found Tohdoh sitting down with the Four Holy Swords at his side. He had his arms resting on the sheath of his sword.

"You must be Rai, aren't you?" Tohdoh spoke when he noticed me.

"Umm…yes, that would be me."

"You helped me out during the battle at Choufu base. I must express my thanks for that."

Colonel Tohdoh stood up and bowed his head in respect. The Four Holy Swords followed his example and bowed down in the same manner.

"Huh…No…That's…"

Feeling nervous from his expression of gratitude I put my hands unconsciously at my side as I also made a profound bow back.

"Zero told me about you on our way back and I feel that it was thanks to your actions that the battle was a success."

"Your guidance as an instructor for controlling the Gekka was also very helpful." Senba pointed out.

"No, there was little I had to teach you in the first place. As expected of the Four Holy Swords. I was very surprised."

Hearing praise from expert soldiers such as the Four Holy Swords caused me to shrink with embarrassment as I rubbed my hand on the back of my head.

"No, the fact that we are able to cut our way through that battle despite having never crossed blades with the White Knightmares up until then was thanks to your teachings beforehand." Chiba said.

"Since Lieutenant Senba was unsteady on it, after all." Asahina joked around.

"Be quiet you…I won't fall behind next time." Senba brushed Asahina's remark aside."

"For referencing future tactics I looked into your battle records though it was impolite, but you really do have incredible skill as a knightmare pilot."

"Huh…Really…?"

"One of these days I hope I can have a match against you." Tohdoh said proposing a challenge.

"Wha…you wish to go up against me? I guess that would be fine, although I don't think I would stand a chance against someone like you."

"In any case we are proud to be able to fight alongside you. I am looking forward to fighting beside you in the next battle Rai."

After making his final statement Tohdoh gave one more bow and proceeded to leave the area.

After that I was called out by the Four Holy Swords and was invited to a meeting in the hanger."

"So what exactly is this meeting about?" I asked them.

"We are going to have a discussion about piloting and making use of the Gekka." Asahina said.

"Since you also pilot a Gekka you should come join us and have a drink." Urabe said as he held a case of sake in his hands.

"Hey wait a minute, that's sake isn't it? I'm just a student, I shouldn't be drinking that!"

In reality, they were going to have a drinking bout.

"A boy who can fight well on the battlefield is already considered a man through the eyes of a soldier." Senba said.

"Oh, don't worry. I went and prepared some tea for you. Is that okay with you?" Chiba said as she held a cup of tea in her hands.

"Well I suppose, as long as that tea doesn't have any alcohol in it."

The five of us then sat around in a circle in front of the Gekkas that belonged to the Four Holy Swords.

"It's been a long time since I've had such good sake." Urabe said as he happily drank his sake cup.

"You are right…We have all been tense until we managed to rescue Tohdoh." Asahina pointed out.

"I am really am grateful…for the help…of the Black Knights…" Chiba said as tears rolled down her eyes.

"I am just glad that I can fight once more with the Colonel…Long Live Japan!" Senba shouted out loudly.

It seemed like they were all drunk already.

"As expected, sake is the only real alcohol! How is Rai's diluted shochu tea?! You really know how to drink there." Urabe said as he happily continued to gulp down more sake.

He didn't seem to have noticed that the contents of my cup were ordinary tea yet.

"Japanese rice, Japanese water, and together they make Japanese sake. Is it impossible for it not to be delicious…This Japan, this beautiful Japan, why is this all being giving…to Britannia?" Senba called out.

"Lieutenant Senba, it's alright. With Colonel Tohdoh here Japan will stand up once more…A miracle will definitely happen again." Chiba confidently said to Senba.

"That wasn't a miracle. Really now, so many people just misunderstand it. General Katase was like that as well…Geez, everyone just doesn't get it. What makes Tohdoh truly amazing." Asahina said while he laughed.

"Hey, haven't you guys been drinking too much? Hic…" Urabe said as he started to hiccup.

"By the way, where are you from Rai?" Chiba asked me.

"…I don't know yet." Was all I could say.

"His real age is also unknown. He can be considered as both an adult and a child, depending on how you want to think of him. Well, I suppose that you must envy that kind of position, don't you Chiba?" Asahina said jokingly.

"I am still plenty young myself!" Chiba commented and then poked Asahina's head.

"I apologize for my colleagues' bad manners. It is only when we are among comrades that we act so uncouth. In any case, please forgive them." Senba said to me.

"That reminds me, Chiba. What happened to that fish you caught last time? Did you already cook it and serve it to the Colonel?" Urabe asked Chiba.

"What!" Chiba shrieked out.

"After the colonel told her that he loved grilled fish she desperately tried to learn how to fish and cook it." Asahina pointed out.

"That has nothing to do with the colonel!" Chiba insisted.

"Oh, then how about the time you trained yourself in homemaking and…"

Chiba once again poked Asahina's head.

"So what is your favorite food Rai?" Senba questioned me.

I abruptly looked down at my tea. Because I have no clear memories of my past yet, I didn't really know how to answer that.

"Umm…The…daily lunch special at my school's cafeteria…I guess…"

"You are speaking vaguely once again." Senba said.

"Since I don't know my likes and dislikes from before I just eat whatever is served to me. That can also be called my taste…right?"

"What about sashimi? It is an ingredient that Japanese people like to put in fresh food." Urabe said.

"Since Britannian cuisine is the mainstream in the settlement and at school…I haven't had many chances to try it."

"Those foreigners in the settlement just don't understand the Japanese sense of taste; like our tofu, natto, and seasonal herbs." Chiba said listing off foods.

"The seasonal herbs are good, but I would recommend cicadas in the summer. Red dragonflies are also good in autumn. After lightly roasting it over a fire you eat it starting from the head." Urabe said as he licked his lips.

"Wait a minute…Urabe, don't teach him such strange things!" Chiba shouted out at Urabe.

"But it tastes good though…" Urabe said as he slumped his head downward.

"We only eat things like that when there is nothing else to eat." Senba pointed out.

"That's right, though it is a little better if you have some soy sauce to go with it." Asahina said.

"Asahina's love of soy sauce is certainly extreme." Chiba said.

"Not only does he pour soy sauce on watermelons and in pudding, his taste is so bad that he puts it in his coffee." Urabe said.

"It's only a few drops. Besides, soy sauce is an all purpose seasoning." Asahina said with a grin.

"Please forgive them. It is because they have been forced to act as soldiers for a while now." Senba said to me.

This is certainly a gathering of lively people. However, I suddenly realized that there was a deep and dense smell of alcohol surrounding us. My eyes also started to get blurry as I started to lose consciousness and fell over.

(Third Person View)

"Oh look, it appears Zero's Special Ace has passed out!" Asahina laughed out loud.

"He must have drank too much sake." Urabe said while in a still drunken state.

"You fool; he wasn't even drinking any alcohol!" Chiba shouted out at him.

"Well, how was I suppose to know?" Urabe said as he withdrawn himself.

"He must have passed out with all this smell of alcohol in the air." Senba said as he picked up the young man and placed him on a nearby bench.

"Come on, we need to leave and let him get his rest."

The Four Holy Swords then got up and left the hanger.

(First Person View)

When I regained consciousness, I was lying on top of one of the hangar's benches.

"Have you woken up?" I heard a voice call out.

"Huh…Kallen?" I dizzyingly said.

"Geez, a student like you isn't supposed to be drinking sake! It causes trouble for the Four Holy Swords as well…"

"But I didn't drink any sake, honestly." I said as I cautiously shook my hands in front of me.

"Hmmm….I suppose I will believe you this time. Even though this place reeks of alcohol, to the point where it actually hurts my eyes…"

"What happened to the others?"

"You mean the Four Holy Swords? After they carried you here they probably went out to get more sake in the ghettos."

"I see…ugh…my head hurts." I said as I held my hand over my head.

"Here, drink some water."

"Thank you."

I took the offered water and poured it down my throat. Kallen sat down next to me on the bench as she watched this display.

"You seem to have hit it off with those guys. It must have been a lot of fun. And yet they have only just met you."

"Yeah, I learned a lot from them."

"All this time, I have been fighting together with you at my side and yet I…"

"Huh, what was that?"

I couldn't hear her that well because of her low voice. I was still feeling light-headed.

"It's nothing!" Kallen quickly shouted out.

"What were you about to say…?"

"I said it was nothing. Why don't you just lie down, you drunk!" Kallen said as she pushed me away from her and threw a cold, moist hand towel at my face.

I wonder if Kallen had prepared it for me.

"It would be a problem if you came to school smelling like alcohol. Just sleep here until you feel better. I will make up some excuse for you. I will be going now. Make sure you don't come to school with that appearance!"

"Hmm…Sure…Thanks…" I said as I placed the cold, moist, towel on my face and went back to sleep on the bench.

I found myself alone again in a bright area. It appears that I was outside and was standing on a strange looking altar. There were clouds all around my surroundings. Was this altar somehow able to levitate up in the sky? Where am I and what in the world is going on here?

I stood where I was and waited for something to happen.

As I stood alone on this isolated island I looked up and saw the moon hovering right above this strange area. Not only that but it seems like the moon had a blue aura surrounding it. Hmm…that was weird.

After I continued to stand around idly for several moments I noticed that nothing was happening. What's going on? For some reason I was kind of expecting someone to show up and do something. I decided to give up on waiting and explore this altar I was on.

I turned around and noticed that there was something on the other end of the altar. I walked over and noticed that there was a small pedestal with a sword stuck in it. Judging from its appearance it looked like an ancient katana that was fixed into the pedestal. Was this here when I first arrived? I don't remember it being here before.

After taking a moment to marvel at the blade standing before me I unconsciously reached my hands out to touch it. As I did so I stopped suddenly when I felt another presence nearby. I looked around and noticed a person standing next to me.

It was young-looking woman with blue colored hair. Who in the world was she? I couldn't see her face that well, only her mouth was visible, the rest of her face was blurry through my vision for some reason. However, I couldn't help but feel some kind of familiarity towards her. Do I know her from somewhere? Before I could spend some time to think about it I noticed her mouth was moving as if she was trying to say something. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Um…I'm sorry but I can't hear what you are saying." I said to the woman.

She tried once again to say something but her words were mute to me. Eventually she gave up and started to walk away.

"W-Wait, don't leave yet!" I said as I stretched my arm out in her direction.

I was about to chase after her when I noticed she snapped her fingers. She then disappeared in an instant. Not only that, but the katana and pedestal also vanished without a trace. Not too long afterwards I heard a voice call out to me.

" _You must hurry up and remember, or else…"_

"Huh, who said that…What are you talking about…What do I need to…" I talked out loud as if I was conversing with someone.

The next thing I knew the altar started shaking, as if there was an earthquake happening. However, that should have been impossible since this altar was suspended up in the sky.

After everything stopped shaking everything soon gone silent. As I stood alone I suddenly felt something pierce my body. I tilted my head downward to notice the tip of a large broadsword sticking out of my left chest.

"W-Wha…Arghhh…!"

Before I was aware of what was going on the weapon was quickly slipped out of my body and I collapsed onto the ground.

I couldn't move my body. My entire body has gone cold and numb. Who struck me with their sword?

My question was soon answered as I heard footsteps approach me.

A shadowy figure stood in front of me. Their characteristics and features were completely shrouded in darkness. I couldn't tell anything about them other than their height was definitely greater than mine and that they were wielding a broadsword, most likely the one that just struck me. I then heard a deep voice laughter coming from the shadowy figure.

"Ha ha ha…Pitiful…What a disappointment you were. No confidence, no resolve, no hope! I was expecting more from you but I guess that was asking too much coming from one who has lost his identity of self!"

I had no idea what they were going on about. However, the second they started speaking I felt a chill run down my already frozen body. I couldn't understand why but fear was starting to swell up inside me. I was scared. I wanted to flee but my body wouldn't move. I didn't understand if it was because I was starting to realize that my body was slowly dying from that wound or just because that voice scares me to death, or maybe both. It started to make me think about that time in Narita.

"Now, it's time to bury the truth forever along with your family's legacy!" The shadowy yelled as they raised their weapon once more with both hands.

As they did so everything around us started to burst into flames; the ground around us, their blade, even the moon that was once suspended above the temple we were on lost its blue aura and now looked like it was on fire. Not only that but I saw what appeared to be a symbol glowing on the moon. The symbol looked like a bird, a crane, or some kind of winged creature.

That was the last thing I saw before I heard the sound of metal piercing something followed by the screams of what sounded like my voice.

"…Ahhhhh!"

"Ahhh…!"

I yelled out as I fell off the bench and onto the floor. I must have been dreaming. Just to make sure though I quickly checked the left side of my chest to make sure and noticed there was no hole anywhere. That dream sure made me paranoid.

I sure have been getting some strange dreams as of late. Especially this one; at the end there it felt like I actually…I didn't want to think any more about it. I wanted to forget everything about that dream.

In any case, now that I think about it I wonder what time it was. I got up and started to walk around the hanger in order to distract my thoughts with something.

"Oh, it's you." Colonel Tohdoh said while meditating in front of his Gekka.

"I'm sorry, am I disturbing you?"

"No, I don't mind."

Colonel Tohdoh then stood up as he holds onto his katana in his left hand.

"So, are you up for a sword match against me?"

"Huh, you want to go up against me right now? But I don't even own a sword." I confusingly said.

You mean he was actually serious about what he said last night? Tohdoh then tossed a wooden sword at me.

"We will just do a practice fight with wooden swords. Are you ready?" Tohdoh said as he picked up another wooden sword that was placed next to him.

I was silent for a moment as I remembered what I dreamt about last night. However, I wasn't going to let that get the best of me as this was Tohdoh, not some unknown human I'm not even aware of.

"Uh…sure…"

Tohdoh and I started to have a mock sword fight in the hanger. I gripped the wooden sword in my hand and took my stance. When I took my stance I noticed that Tohdoh seemed surprised for a moment but he didn't say anything. Afterwards both Tohdoh and I then began clashing our swords several times while dodging and blocking the other guy's attacks.

I was simply amazed, not only did I seem like I instinctively knew how to wield a sword but also at Tohdoh who was able to brush aside all my strikes with little effort. He was as skilled as everyone claimed him to be.

After going a few rounds we attracted the attention of the Four Holy Swords. They stood and watched as Tohdoh and I went at it.

"That guy is pretty good isn't he?" Asahina commented.

"He's good, but still not close to the Colonel's skill." Chiba said.

"Yeah, but look at them go." Urabe said as he watched.

"Too bad it's almost over already." Senba said.

I stepped back for a moment and tried to think about my next move. In order for me to be able to land a hit I will have to catch him off guard somehow.

After coming up with a plan I dashed towards Tohdoh. I raised my sword above my body and swung down with a vertical strike. Tohdoh swiftly moved his body backwards to dodge my attack. However, he wasn't my real target as my wooden sword slammed into his weapon and had it pointed towards the ground with mine resting on top of his. Tohdoh still held a grip on his wooden sword though.

"Ah, so you are trying to disarm me huh…Very clever tactic, however…"

Tohdoh then quickly applied energy to his sword and flung it up into the air. It happened so fast I lost grip of my weapon as it flew away. Following that Tohdoh raised his foot and kicked me right in the stomach. The impact as his attack caused me to fall with my back planted on the ground.

"Oww…Well, I lost. I guess I'm not as good as I thought I was." I said as I scratched the back of my head.

"No, your swordplay was excellent. It's just that your moves were…how should I put it…out of balance. You probably could have done better and you were also shaking a little as we fought." Tohdoh said as he helped me up.

"Oh, is that so…I guess I am still lacking in resolve."

"Also, I have seen the stance you took and that style of fighting before. I can't remember whose it was but I'm sure I went up against it before." Tohdoh then closed his eyes trying to think about it but just shook his head in distress.

"I'm sorry, I just can't remember. It's been a long time since I have seen it."

I remained silent. I wonder what he was trying to think about.

Afterwards I bid farewell to Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords as I headed to the lockers. I then put my Ashford Uniform on and got my other things in my bag. After that I headed to Ashford Academy.

When I got to my room I threw my bag on the bed and headed for the student council room. There I saw Milly, Shirley, Rivalz and Nina watching something on the news.

"What are you all watching?" I said as I walked into the room.

"Oh, you just missed Suzaku's ceremony. He just became a knight of Princess Euphemia." Milly said as I walked over to where they were.

Suzaku just never stops with recent surprises does he? For the longest time, even though I knew he was part of the Britannian military we always thought he was just a simple engineer, especially considering his status as an Eleven. But thinking back on how Suzaku wanted me to join the military and what he said to me a few days ago, maybe it should have been obvious to me that he was actually the pilot of the white knightmare.

I then notice Milly turning off the television.

"Okay guys, it is time to get ready to work for our next party project!"

"And what would that be?" I asked her.

"Why, to celebrate Suzaku becoming a knight of course! He is a member of the student council so we have to do something to commemorate his achievements. Rai, you and Rivalz are in charge of bringing all the tables to the main hallway of the clubhouse. Come everyone, let's go!" Milly proclaimed as she pumped her fists into the air.

"Yeah, I got it." I then headed off with Rivalz despite his complaints to do our duties."

(Third Person View)

Location: Black Knight's Submarine

Later that night Zero announced a new organization of the Black Knights to its members in the main room of the new submarine Rakshata got for the Black Knights. All the important members of the Black Knights were present, minus Rai who was doing work for the Student Council.

"Our new chief of military affairs will be Kyoshiro Tohdoh!"

Everyone seemed pleased to hear this announcement, especially the Four Holy Swords.

"Taking charge of all intelligence, espionage, and public relation matters…Diethard Ried!"

"What…a Britannian?"

"Not to mention his media ties."

Several members of the Black Knights seemed upset when Zero said that.

"Zero, I am not a racist but what is your reasoning for placing one of 'them' in such a sensitive position?" Chiba called out.

"Reasoning…And what about me I asked all of you. I am not Japanese either. You all know this. What matters is the ability to get results! Who you are and where you are from have little consequence. Moving on now, my deputy commander will be Kaname Ohgi."

"Who, me…?" Ohgi asked confused.

"Do you object?"

"N-No…"

"Well, you were our leader to begin with." Sugiyama said.

"A newbie can't take that job right?" Minami said.

"The person in charge of engineering and development will be Rakshata!"

"But of course." Rakshata said.

"The Captain of the Zero Squad…Kallen Kozuki!"

"The Zero Squad?"

"Yes, an elite guard under my direct command. Think of yourself of my personal forces."

"An elite guard…Zero…" Kallen was pleased with her new position.

Zero then started to give out positions for everyone else in the room.

"And with that our reorganization is complete. Are there any questions?" Zero asked the crowd.

"What about C.C. or Rai. Are there no positions for them?" Kallen called out.

"Ah yes, them…I am still trying to find the perfect spots for them. I will announce their positions at a later date." Zero answered.

"Oh, is that so…" Kallen whispered to herself.

"Zero, may I add something?" Diethard spoke out.

"What is it?"

"There is one issue that needs to be dealt with. Can I discuss this with you and the others in the conference room?"

Diethard, Zero, Tohdoh, Ohgi, and Rakshata then headed for the conference room.

"Suzaku Kururugi…he is become a vocal point among Elevens who are Britannian supporters. I recommend he be assassinated."

"Assassinate him?" Zero questioned.

"He may be right. You have been the main focus of the resistance movement." Rakshata said agreeing with Diethard.

"People aren't moved by ideology alone. But the Britannians will hold this boy up as a symbol. I think that taking him out would be the smart decision right now."

"I object! The Japanese would be revolted by such a cowardly act!" Tohdoh protested.

"Yeah…and the Black Knights is not the business of killing the defenseless either! What do you want us to do…get him when he is alone and kill him straight out?" Ohgi said agreeing with Tohdoh.

"Calm down. I am merely suggesting we minimize our risks in the most sufficient way possible. But it is Zero's choice after all." Diethard said while looking at Zero.

Zero just sat there silently.

The next day Lelouch sat in his room thinking about what he was going to do.

"First Suzaku is the one piloting the white knightmare and now he's become Euphemia's Knight as well. This isn't good. Who is going to be Nunnally's knight now? Is there anyone else besides Suzaku who could protect Nunnally?"

Lelouch then looked out the window and saw Rai sitting on a bench.

"Hmm…I wonder…would Rai be able to…No, that wouldn't work…And besides…"

He then looked over at Kallen who was sitting next to Rai. He noticed that Rai was handing Kallen a peculiar pouch. Did Kallen lose it and Rai found and was returning it? Lelouch then smiled to himself for a moment as he remembered what was in that pouch when Kallen threatened him once.

"In any case, there is already someone else for him."

"What's the matter? You can always use your Geass on Rai to make him want to protect Nunnally." C.C. suggested to Lelouch, who was sitting on his bed while hugging her plush toy.

"Why do you always keep suggesting that to me?" Lelouch said as he turned to face her.

"Because, it is the easiest way to get someone to do what you want them to do, isn't it?"

Lelouch then gave C.C. a disapproving face and then walked out of his room while slamming his door shut.

Location: Ashford Grounds (First Person View)

I was heading for the clubhouse when I ran into Lelouch, who wanted to talk to me about something.

"Hey Rai…Tell me, what do you think of Nunnally?" Lelouch asked.

"Huh…well, I think she is a good, kind and honest sister." I answered.

"I see…and what about you and Kallen…are you two…"

"Huh…me and Kallen…What are you talking about?"

"Oh, uh…never mind. I see I was getting to close and personal there. It's nothing…Please forget about it."

Lelouch then changed the subject.

"In any case, we should head to the clubhouse's main hall. Suzaku's party is in there and we should be there for him." Lelouch said as he left and entered the party room.

As his sister, I can understand him worrying about Nunnally, but what was he trying to say about Kallen and me? Was there something meaningful about that, I wonder? I decided to push Lelouch's words aside and entered the clubhouse as well.

* * *

After the party was over Kallen and I received word from Zero to head out to the Black Knight's Submarine. There Zero began to discuss our next operation.

"Princess Euphemia is going to Shikine Island to meet a noble from their homeland. Her knight, Suzaku Kururugi, will be accompanying her. That far out into sea the enemy's strength will be severely weakened. It is a golden opportunity for us. Our objective is to capture Suzaku and his Lancelot. Once we won the battle I want Kururugi taken safely into custody."

"So, what happens after we got him?" Tamaki shouted out.

"Don't worry; just leave that part to me." Zero responded.

Our submarine then headed out for Shikine Island as we got our plan ready to go.

Once we finished setting our plan up I waited patiently inside my Proto-Gekka. My job was to protect Rakshata's new weapon, the Gefjun Disturber, the jamming device that Rakshata is so proud of. It seems like it uses a magnetic field to disable the power source of knightmares.

"I think you understand, but make sure not to step into the effect range of the Gefjun Disturber." Rakshata said over the communicator.

"I understand."

Thanks to the stealth function caused as a bi-product from the device, we had the ideal conditions to set up a stationary trap. Zero's plan was to use himself as a decoy in order to tempt Suzaku into the trap, thereby capturing the Lancelot.

"Are all the preparations ready?" Zero asked.

"We are ready anytime now." Rakshata said.

Tohdoh and his Gekka, Kallen and her Guren, and Asahina's squad came charging in and started to destroy the enemy Sutherlands at the base. Eventually the Lancelot arrived and Zero proceeded to get the attention of the Lancelot, who then immediately chased after him. Kallen, Colonel Tohdoh, and the others then prepared to gather at the establishment point of the Gefjun Disturber through other routes. I made the Proto-Gekka lie in the thicket near the sandy beach as well. Coincidently enough, the blue frame blended in among the green of the trees without any trouble.

Suddenly, Zero's Burai and the Lancelot passed right before me. Jumping over the sand dunes, they both landed at the bottom of a pit in the ground, right in the middle of the trap. Rakshata then activated the Gefjun Disturber and the Lancelot stopped moving.

(Third Person View)

"We need to talk Kururugi!" Zero said to Suzaku as he came out of his Burai.

Knightmares then began to surround the sand dune that Zero and Suzaku were in, standing outside the Gefjun Disturber's range.

"I suggest you come out! Your secondary systems should still be functioning. You will be treated as a prisoner under international law. Of course, if you don't care to talk, we can just gun you down instead." Zero threatened.

Suzaku then came out of his knightmare and met face to face with Zero.

"I will get straight to the point Suzaku Kurururgi. I want you to join me." Zero said as he pointed a gun at Suzaku.

"Is that a threat? Well you can forget it! I already told you, results gained through the wrong methods are meaningless!" Suzaku responded.

"So, you wouldn't describe the peace we have now as worthless? If Japan would have resisted to its very last breath seven years ago, what do you think would have happened? The Chinese Federation and the E.U. would have stepped in and split Japan into three. They would be fighting even now. Our current peace is the result of Japan's immediate and unconditional surrender."

"That's right…And I have been fighting to preserve my father's peace ever since it began."

"You are wrong…Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi, elected by the people, didn't choose surrender. That decision was selfishly made by his killer. With the government thrown into chaos surrender became the only logical choice. The will of the people were stolen from them by a lone criminal pursuing his own selfish agenda!"

"How on earth do you know that?"

"There is only one way to atone now. Present the Japanese people with the choice they weren't able to make then. The path they were robbed of seven years ago fighting Britannia!"

"Fighting them…that again!"

"It is an option worth exploring. Or would you rather drive the masses towards a future dictated by your own egotism. Do you call that peace?"

 _"Do you read me, Major Kururugi…Please respond!"_ Suzaku received a contact through his headset.

"May I?"

"As you wish."

 _"This is Lieutenant Major Fayer, commander of the Britannian base on Shikine Island. We are launching surface to surface missiles against the terrorists! Major Kururugi, you are orders are to keep Zero there!"_

 _"What…they are giving him up to die!"_ Zero thought.

Suzaku then quickly snatched Zero's gun and dragged him into the Lancelot's cockpit.

"Kururugi, what are you doing?"

"I can't approve of your methods! All I can do right now is this!"

(First Person View)

"Incoming missiles!" Chiba said as missiles started to fly towards their location.

The Guren then jumped into the depression.

"Kallen wait, don't go in there!" I yelled out although it was too late. She didn't hear me.

"Don't worry Zero, I am coming!" But then her Guren stopped working because of the Gefjun Disturber.

"Damn it!" Kallen shouted in distress.

(Third Person View)

"You are going to die here as well! You don't have a problem with that!" Zero yelled at Suzaku from inside the Lancelot.

 _"Your sacrifice isn't in vain Major. We are about to put an end to the most dangerous criminal Britannia has ever known. They will speak of your bravery for generations to come!"_

"Shut up!" Zero screamed.

"A soldier must always follow his orders!" Suzaku said.

"Hmph…Certainly easier than following your own heart! How do you feel about this?"

"You are wrong! I have rules that I made and need to live by!"

(First Person View)

I was trying to figure out what I should do when I noticed a heat source on my monitor coming from behind and saw that it was the blue counterpart to Suzaku's knightmare.

"Commander Tohdoh, there is an enemy knightmare behind us! It's the other Lancelot! What should we do?" I told Tohdoh.

"You deal with that one. The rest of you form a barrage against those missiles! Empty your guns if you have to!" Tohdoh said as the Gekka frames and Burai units started to focus their attacks on the flying missiles.

I then charged forward in my Proto-Gekka and attacked the Lancelot Club with my knightmare's blade. The Lancelot Club blocked my attack with its Blaze Luminous Shields.

The Lancelot Club then took out its MVS Lance and continued fighting with my knightmare

(Third Person View)

"Suzaku, let Zero go! It's me, Kallen Stadtfeld from the student council." Kallen said as she got out of the Guren. Suzaku however couldn't hear her.

"Answer me…!" Kallen screamed as she ran towards the Lancelot but stopped when she saw a battleship floating in the air blocking all the missiles while forming a shield around itself.

Rakshata dropped the pipe out of her mouth when she saw the ship.

"They completed a float system? Well I'm outdone."

The Proto-Gekka and Lancelot Club also stopped when they saw the floating ship approaching.

The Avalon then opened a hatch to reveal a huge knightmare that was about to shoot out some kind of blast.

"Damn it Suzaku, do something! You are going to die!"

"It is better than breaking the rules!"

"You stubborn fool!" Zero yelled as he activated his Geass and looked at Suzaku's eyes.

"Live…!"

(First Person View)

I aimed my Gekka's handgun and fired at the Lancelot Club. However, the opposing knightmare withdrew its bladed lances and formed the green barrier in front of itself again. Geezs, my adversary sure was playing defensively today.

I then noticed the Lancelot Club suddenly stopped and saw a person with pink hair hop out of the frame. I instantly recognized the person as the vice-roy of Area 11, Princess Euphemia. She appeared to be heading for the crater where Suzaku and Zero were at. I then suddenly realized something.

"Wait a minute, have I been fighting a member of the royal family this entire time!"

My accusations were soon proven false when I saw the Lancelot Club move again and chased after Euphemia into the sand dunes.

As I began to wonder if I should follow after them I noticed the black knightmare above us was finished charging up whatever it was about to do. Before I could react two beams shot down at us and everything became a blur around me. During that time I thought I heard someone's voice.

" _Soon, you will come to me…"_

After the explosion cleared I could finally see clearly again. Before I could think about anything I heard Tohdoh's voice over the communicator.

"To all Black Knights soldiers, we are retreating!"

All of our units then began to retreat to our escape points. I saw Chiba's and Asahina's Gekka carry the Guren but I didn't see Kallen in it.

"Wait a minute! Where are Kallen and Zero?" I asked.

"We don't know, but we can't let ourselves be destroyed here! Withdraw now!" Tohdoh's order resounded.

As much as I didn't want to leave Kallen or Zero behind I had no choice but to retreat with Tohdoh and the others. We headed back to the submarine and then we left, not knowing if Zero and Kallen survived or not.

Moving on to the next Stage…

 _Author's Notes-Not much new stuff here besides another dream sequence. However, we are getting closer to where the story will diverge from the original story. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and until next time._


	19. Back Stage 3

**Author's Note:** _Hello everyone, NSBleach00 here with a quick update. I am still working on Stage 17. However, in the meantime I have another Back Stage chapter for you all._

 _After reading several comments about how people missed the chapter covering the OC character, Michael Steinburg, I have decided to bring it back as a Back Stage, albeit I had to tweak it in order for it to fit in with this version of the story._

 _Other than that I went back to the current Chapter 15 and added in a sentence where Rai references an event from this chapter as well as remove the scene where Kallen attempts to attack Suzaku at his party in Chapter 16. After rereading the chapter myself that particular scene just left a sour taste in my mouth and I just felt the need to remove. It doesn't really affect anything overall in the story and hopefully no one mind it._

 _Other than that I hope everyone enjoys this chapter as I do take as I do take peoples comments and criticism into consideration._

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Back Stage 14.8: The Life of a Britannian Soldier

"So your name is Michael Steinburg right?" Lloyd asked the Britannian solider.

"Yes, it is." The boy replied back.

"Well then, welcome aboard the Camelot crew my boy! I'm Lloyd Asplund, head of our little group and I'm also the developer of the Lancelots." Lloyd said as he introduced himself to Michael.

"My name is Cecile Croomy and I'm Lloyd assistant. I'm also one of the people who helped make the Lancelot prototypes." Cecile said with a smile.

"Oh, so you two made the Lancelot and Lancelot Club? I got to say, those two knightmare frames has got quite some specs to them. I believe they will greatly help improve Britannia's military strength." Michael commented.

"Wow, I'm glad to hear to hear your opinion on them." Cecile said with a smile.

"Yes yes, it is nice to hear but I would like to discuss your performance of last night's battle at the port." Lloyd said as he pulled up a screen showing battle data from the Lancelot Club. The screen showed the Lancelot Club taking down several Burai units.

"So, how well did I do?" Michael asked Lloyd.

"You did outstandingly well! You really did use the Lancelot Club to its fullest potential. You were even able to stand up against what seemed to the Black Knights newest knightmare model." Lloyd said as the screen showed an image of the Lancelot Club clashing swords with a blue Japanese knightmare.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to destroy it. The pilot of that machine was really good."

"That's understandable, but you did well for your first time regardless." Cecile said praising Michael's skill.

"Yep, from now on you will be Suzaku's partner on the battlefield." Lloyd proclaimed.

"Oh yes, that's right…Suzaku, please introduced yourself." Cecile said to Suzaku.

Suzaku then stepped forward and introduced himself.

"Right…I'm sorry for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Suzaku…Suzaku Kururugi. I'm the pilot of the original Lancelot."

"Suzaku Kururugi huh…Wait, that means you are an Eleven right?"

"Uh…yes, I am."

Michael then gave Suzaku a glare at first, but then he just smiled and offered Suzaku a handshake.

"Well it's nice to meet you Suzaku. I hope you and I will be able to get along and cooperate with each other."

Suzaku and Michael then gave each other a strong handshake.

"Yeah, me too." Suzaku replied.

"By the way…you did say Kururugi correct? As in the same as Genbu Kururugi, the former Prime Minister?"

"Yes, he is my father actually."

"Wow, that's kind of surprising. I would definitely assume you would be someone who holds a grudge against Britannia."

When Suzaku heard Michael say that he simply swayed his eyes away before replying.

"…It's fine. I honestly don't blame anyone about the war seven years ago. I actually just want to put the past behind me and move forward with life, even if that means living as an Honorary Britannia. I'm fine with it and have already accepted it."

"Wow, you must be pretty tough to just grin and bear it. But I like and respect that. Most of the Numbers and Honorary members I know are nothing but no good thieves and terrorists and it just makes me…"

Before he could finish his sentence Michael was interrupted.

"Suzaku, Michael, it's about time to shut down for tonight. The two of you need to get ready to go." Cecile said from up on the hanger.

"Well, in any case it's nice to meet you…See you later." Michael said.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Suzaku replied.

* * *

The next day Michael took the opportunity to explore the settlement within Tokyo as he has never been there before.

As Michael was walking down the streets he saw Suzaku in his Britannian soldier uniform and decided to meet up with him.

"Hey Suzaku, wait up!"

Suzaku turned around and saw Michael running up towards him.

"Oh, hey there Michael."

"Where are you going?"

"I was asked by Miss Cecile to pick up some things for her at the grocery store." Suzaku said while holding a list in his hand.

"Oh, I see…do you mind if I tag along? I have nothing better to do at the moment."

"Sure, I don't mind."

Suzaku and Michael then headed for a nearby grocery store to go pick up the supplies. Once they got inside they started to go down the aisles and picked up everything Cecile asked them to get. Once they got everything they needed Suzaku and Michael were about to go to the counter to pay for the stuff when they saw two rugged-looking Elevens enter the store. One of them walked up to the cash register and then pulled a gun out and pointed it at the cashier.

"Cashier, if you wish to live then you better hand me all the money you got stored in that cash register of yours! Just give me the money and no one gets hurt. And make it quick too!" The hardy Eleven said while still pointing the gun at the cashier. His cohort also held a gun and had it aimed at some nearby customers.

The frightened cashier had no choice and began pulling money out of his register.

Seeing that Suzaku then put all the stuff he was carrying on the floor and immediately went to action.

"Hey Suzaku what are you…" Michael whispered but then he saw Suzaku rush towards the thug.

He jumped and, while in the air, spun around and kicked the Eleven right in the face before they could react. The Eleven man fell over and dropped his gun. Suzaku then had the Eleven pinned down on the ground. While Suzaku had the thief preoccupied the cashier pushed a button underneath the counter that signaled the police force to come here.

"Why you…!" The other rough edged looking Eleven said as he pulled a gun out and pointed it at Suzaku.

Michael also dropped everything he was carrying and ran over to the second Eleven. He then grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it while holding it over the Eleven's back.

"You will not fire that!" Michael said to the second man.

It caused the man so much pain and discomfort that he dropped his weapon.

"Yeowch…Okay, okay, I won't resist anymore…Just stop that!" The second Eleven begged.

"Using my name as a Britannian soldier the two of you are under arrest for trying to rob a store." Suzaku said as he and Michael had a hold of the two Eleven robbers while they waited for the police to arrive. When they did finally arrive the police officer took the two Elevens into custody.

"Thank you for work boys. We will make sure these good for nothing Elevens get what coming to them." The officer said as he shoved the Eleven thieves into the back of the vehicle.

"Suzaku, you traitor!" One of the thugs yelled as both thieves stared intently at Suzaku.

Suzaku however, decided to avert his eyes away from the men in the car.

"Oh, don't listen to them Suzaku, you were only doing your job." Michael said with confidence.

"Yeah, I know…" Suzaku half-heartingly replied as he looked down.

"But still, I think you did really well out there Suzaku." Michael said to Suzaku.

"I'm just doing my job to protect people, that's all." Suzaku answered back.

"I was really impressed with that one move you did."

"Which one was that?"

"The one where you spun around in the air and kicked that guy flat in the face. What do you call that move?"

"It doesn't really have a name. It's just something I made up myself."

"Hey, you have to teach me that move…Whenever you have free time that is."

"I don't mind, although it would probably be difficult for you to learn."

"Still, I have to wonder, what in the world would drive those Elevens into attempting to rob that store, especially during the day. What were they thinking? If they really needed money they could have just gotten jobs like normal people, you know? I mean, I know they are Numbers and all but we do have a system in place for their kind to fit into our society." Michael retorted.

"Yeah, I know what you mean Michael. I understand what you are trying to say even though I do have somewhat of an idea of why those Elevens did what they did. Still, even doing petty crimes like robbery is still inexcusable. And, even though I do admit that the system of Britannia needs some improvement I still would like to believe that one day it will be able to benefit everyone." Suzaku proudly declared.

There was then a deep silence between the two until Michael spoke first.

"Wow that was kind of deep."

"Oh sorry, I was getting kind of sentimental there."

"No, it's fine. I won't laugh at you are anything. In fact, I respect people who has the guts to say that out loud."

"Thanks…I guess?" Suzaku replied.

The two of them then continued on their way back to the trailer.

* * *

When they arrived they quickly met up with Cecile inside. After they handed their bags to her Cecile informed them that General Darlton required their assistance on a new task.

Suzaku and Michael quickly prepared themselves and then headed out for the meeting place which was in the Aichi Ghettos. Once they found Darlton standing right outside the borders of the ghettos he explained the mission plan to them.

"Okay boys, today our objective is to capture the Lieutenant Colonel, Kyoshiro Tohdoh. As you might already know he was a soldier in the Japan army and then became a member of the Japan Liberation Front. Even though his leader Katase is dead, there is a chance that Tohdoh and the remaining members of the Japan Liberation Front will try to join the Black Knights. We need to capture him to put an end to the JLF once and for all. This is also to prevent the Black Knights from obtaining a very powerful asset and to prevent their numbers from growing. Speaking of the Black Knights, there is a chance they will appear again like they did at our Saitama Ghettos operation. You two will destroy anyone who gets in our way whether they're the JLF, the Black Knights, or any other resistance group. Only the target needs to be alive. Do you two understand that?"

"Roger that sir." Michael promptly said with a salute.

"Roger…" Suzaku weakly said.

Michael took notice of Suzaku's response.

"Good, we will begin in ten minutes." Dalton said while walking away.

Once Dalton was gone Michael began talking to Suzaku.

"Is there something wrong Suzaku?"

"It's just that…the person we are after today just so happens to be someone I know. He was my fighting instructor back when I was young."

"I see…I guess this mission is going to be kind of hard for you then."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to let that stop me. If Colonel Tohdoh is going to be involved in resistance movements against Britannia then I have no choice but to stop and arrest him for his crimes. That's my duty as a Britannian soldier."

"Yeah, that's right."

The two boys then got in their knightmares and were ready to start the mission. Cecile began talking to the boys over a communicator before they took off.

"I wish you both good luck on today's operation. We are expecting good results from you two. And Michael, today you will be using the Varis Rifle instead of the Custom Assault Rifle. It's the same one that Suzaku's Lancelot uses."

"I see…I will try to make good use of it then."

"Okay, Z-01, you are ready to take off."

"Right, this is Suzaku and Lancelot, I'm going now."

The Lancelot then took off and headed straight down into the Ghettos. After he left the Lancelot Club was ready to go.

"Okay, Z-01b, your frame is ready to launch now."

"Right, this is Michael. I'm taking off in the Lancelot Club."

The Lancelot Club then shot out of the trailer and quickly joined up with its brother unit.

"Okay Suzaku, let's do this." Michael said over the communicator.

"Right, we will put an end to this once and for all!" Suzaku responded back.

Once they got into the ghetto they saw the royal guards in their Gloucesters either taking out Burai units or searching the ruins looking for Tohdoh. Suzaku and Michael then joined them and started taking out enemy Burai units as well. Michael took out the Varis Rifle and had the Lancelot Club shoot down the enemy frames. In just short of three minutes he already shot down five frames.

"Wow…this gun is amazing! It only takes one shot to take down one frame. With this, the terrorists won't stand a chance against me." Michael thought to himself.

The enemy Burai units tried to shoot down the Lancelot Club with their assault rifles but Michael just made the Lancelot Club pull up its Blaze Luminous Shield to repel the bullets. They were no match against him or his superior frame. As Michael continue to shoot them down, he looked over at the Lancelot and saw it shooting down the frames as well with its Varis Rifle. He then saw the Lancelot charged toward a Burai and then the Lancelot spun in the air and kicked the head of the Burai off.

"Are you serious? He can do that special kick with his knightmare as well? That guy sure is something else!" Michael said with a shocked look on his face at what he saw.

After that Michael continued to destroy several enemy frames until most of them were gone.

"Do you see that…This is what happens when you try to oppose Britannia and resort to terrorism! All you manage to do is hurt yourself in the end and several innocent people as well! True peace will never come from actions like that!"

Michael then received a message from General Dalton.

"We're done mopping up most of the enemy units on the surface but we haven't found Tohdoh yet. I am going to search underground with my unit. Also, we just received word that the Black Knights are coming. The rest of you guys stay up there and hold them off until we find Tohdoh."

"I understand."

After he cut communication Michael turned around and saw new knightmares heading into the Ghettos. These Burais were colored to represent they were from the Black Knights. Also among them was a red knightmare.

"Michael, you help me deal with that red one." Suzaku said over the intercom.

"Right!"

While the Gloucester dealt with the Burais, the Lancelot and the Lancelot Club went after the mysterious red knightmare.

"You need to watch out for that red knightmare Michael. That one is difficult even for me to handle. When you are in close combat with it you need to watch out for its right hand. It has some kind of special heat wave attack that can melt away at your machine and weapons."

"I see…in that case I should keep my distance from it."

The Lancelot and Lancelot Club began shooting their Varis Rifles at the red machine but it just glided past the shots and kept getting closer to the two. The Lancelot then pulled out its MVS Sword and swung it at the enemy unit. The red knightmare countered with a forked knife and clashed with the Lancelot's sword. Michael then took the opportunity to raise his Varis Rifle and shot a blast at the enemy frame but at the last moment the red knightmare jumped away.

While the knightmare was still in the air the Lancelot shot a slash harken at the red knightmare but it just warded it away with its knife. Once it was back on the ground the red knightmare shot a blast from its grenade launcher but the Lancelot blocked it with the Blaze Luminous Shield.

"Michael, I'm going to try to distract the red knightmare again. While I do that can you try to shoot at it again with the Varis Rifle? I will give you mine as well while I fight it at close range." Suzaku said as the Lancelot tossed its Varis Rifle at the Lancelot Club.

The Lancelot Club then caught it with its free hand and now held both Varis Rifles."

"I will do my best!" Michael said.

The Lancelot then pulled another MVS Sword out and charged straight forward toward his red foe. The two knightmares then exchanged blows at each other with the red frame dodging both the MVS Swords and the Lancelot dodging the knife and its special right arm. The Lancelot then kicked the red frame back and Michael used this opportunity to attack. He then shot a blast out of one of the Varis'. The red frame was still trying to get it footing straightened but managed to protect itself but using its right hand to create a heat shield around its arm and stopped the attack like that. As soon as it turned it off Michael shot a blast from the second Varis and this time managed to get a direct hit on the frame. The red frame then fell backwards and hit the ground.

"Yeah, we did it!" Michael yelled out.

But his celebration was short-lived as the red frame got back up and revealed that while it was damaged it was still operational.

"What…! That frame is still able to move after that…What kind of armor does that thing have?"

The red frame then charged straight after the Lancelot Club with its right hand glowing red.

"Michael, watch out!" Suzaku yelled.

Michael then had the Lancelot Club pull up its Blaze Luminous Shield trying to block the attack and while it was able to hold the radiation back for awhile the shields eventually broke.

"Oh crap, you mean that attack can break through my shields?" Michael said out loud.

Immediately after that the red frame used its knife to knock one of the Varis Rifles out of his hand and then grabbed the Lancelot Club's head with its right hand.

"Oh no…this isn't good." Michael worryingly said.

The right hand then started to glow red until Suzaku came to help.

"Michael…!" Suzaku yelled as he released four slash harkens from his Lancelot and wrapped the wires of the harkens around the red knightmare.

Suzaku then pulled the knightmare away from the Lancelot Club and the enemy unit had no choice but to let go of the Lancelot Club's head. The red knightmare was then trapped in the slash harken wires and was struggling to free itself.

"Michael, I got a got hold of this knightmare. Now is your chance!"

"Right!"

Michael then got his other Varis Rifle ready and had it at point blank range at the red knightmare's head. The Lancelot Club was about to fire when several bullets came flying in causing the Varis Rifle's projection to get off course and the shot went up into the sky. A sword then knocked the Varis out of the Lancelot Club's hand. Michael looked to see who it was and saw that it was the blue knightmare he fought last night at the port.

"So it's you again…My worthy foe from last night!" Michael yelled out.

The Japanese blue frame then kicked the Lancelot Club with its foot and the Club when tumbling down onto the ground. The blue knightmare then went over to the Lancelot and the red knightmare. The Japanese frame then used its sword to cut the wires of the slash harkens off to free its comrade. Both Japanese knightmares then jumped to the other side of the street. Michael made the Lancelot Club get up and stood next to Suzaku's Lancelot.

"Suzaku, I think we can take these two. That red one should be weakened." Michael said as he pulled his MVS Lance type Sword out.

The Lancelot and Lancelot Club were both ready to charged until the blue knightmare began releasing some kind of smokescreen. The two Japanese knightmares then backed away and retreated into the smog they created.

"Wait…Come back here!" Michael said as he charged into the smokescreen but he couldn't find them.

"Oh dang it, my IFF screen is all screwed up again."

Michael then received a message from General Dalton.

"We have managed to capture Tohdoh underground. We will be taking him to the prison held at the Choufu base and will execute him in a few days. You and Warrant Officer Kururugi have done well today. Our job here is done. The two of you can leave this area now." Darlton said and then cut communications.

"It looks like we accomplished our goals here. The mission was a success." Michael said to Suzaku.

"Well it looks like our job here is done. Let's call it a day." Suzaku answered back.

"Yeah…sure."

Moving back to the main stage…


	20. Back Stage 4

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Back Stage 16.7: The Unknown Legacy

It was a peaceful morning as sunlight started to creep its way into Kaguya Sumeragi's residence.

"…Yaaawwwnnn…hnnn…"

As light started to shine on Kaguya's face she twitched her face before letting out a yawn and started to rub her eyes.

She soon got out of bed and dressed herself up in her traditional garb while humming to herself.

"HmmmHmmmHmmm…Haha!"

As Kaguya continued to hum to herself she suddenly let out laughter. Kaguya already knew what she wanted to do today as it involved going outside and getting out of this stuffy building. She already knew why the other members of Kyoto always insist on her staying as far away from Britannia and the settlement as possible but she couldn't resist the temptation of sneaking out every once in a while despite the trouble and danger it might bring her.

"Everything will be fine. I will only be gone for a little while." Kaguya told herself as she stared at a mirror showing her reflection.

That was another reason she loved to sneak out. Ever since Suzaku Kururugi left the Kyoto House and joined the Britannian Military there was no one close to her age that lived inside the Kyoto building. She was stuck all by herself; her parents both died during the war with Britannia and her other relatives were gone and confirmed deceased as well. Despite Kirihara watching over her as her guardian she still felt lonely and alone. That was why she desperately wished for the liberation of Japan in the hopes that maybe she will be allowed to move about freely again like before the war.

"Alright, time to head out!"

After Kaguya was finished with tidying up her hair she flashed her finger at the mirror with a smile and headed out of her room.

As Kaguya walked down the narrow hallway she continued to hum to herself until she came across Kirihara, who was coming down from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Ah, good morning Kaguya." Kirihara was the first to speak.

"Oh, good morning Mr. Kirihara!" Kaguya replied in a cheery voice.

"My, aren't you blooming with energy today. I suppose you already heard the good news then?" Kirihara continued to say,

"Huh, what do you mean?" Kaguya questioned back.

"It has been confirmed that Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh has been rescued by the Black Knights before his execution."

"Ha, I told you so. I knew that Zero and the Black Knights would be able to pull it off." Kaguya triumphantly proclaimed.

"Yeah well, I will admit that I was beginning to doubt the Black Knights after their failed attempt to assist Katase at the port and allowing Tohdoh to get captured in the ghettos. Still, I think you might have a little too much blind faith in Zero and the Black Knights at times."

"So, what is wrong with that? Besides, the Black Knights have managed to accomplish much more than any other resistance force here in Japan. We already went over this with everyone else. They are our best shot for Japan's liberation."

"Yes, I know. But still, I think that is only partly because you keep using your family's wealth to supply the Black Knights with superior knightmares."

"Of course…Zero is the greatest commander we have ever seen. And the best tactician needs to have the best equipment in order to stand up against those mean Britannian brutes. The way he commands his troops and how he penetrates the Britannian forces…Ah, I still remember when he first appeared to save Suzaku while making that Jeremiah Gottwald look like a dummy."

"There you go again, fawning over Zero and letting your infatuation with him cloud your better judgment."

"Wha…it's not infatuation…its true love, really!" Kaguya protested.

"Really now…Sigh, teenagers these days. I have to keep reminding myself that you are still a kid and that kids love to let their imaginations go wild."

"Hey, I may still be just a 'kid' to you and the others but I'm still more than capable of following in my family's footsteps!" Kaguya pouted back to Kirihara.

"Yes, yes, I know that you are wiser than you make yourself out to be and I apologize. In any case what are you planning on doing today Kaguya?"

"Well, I plan on going to my family's shrine today in order to pay my respects to them, if that is not a problem for you."

"Hmph, I suppose I will allow it. Even if I say no you will just sneak yourself out of here without my permission anyways. All of you in the Sumeragi family are the same. You all go outside our society's norm to carry things out in your own way."

"Heh, but of course! While we do respect our country's culture and traditions we in the Sumeragi family are always told to what is best for everyone by doing it in our own special way…at least that is what my mother told me."

"And that is what I struggle to accept the most from your family, the way you all follow your own belief system. Anyways, putting that aside; as long as you understand why we usual wish for you to remain here at our main headquarters I will allow you to go. After all, the Kururugi boy already gave himself up to Britannia, if the remaining Sumeragi family member also ended up with Briatannia like your…"

"I know what happens if the Britannians or some other foreign power catches me…and you don't need to bring up my aunty's decision either!" Kaguya swiftly snapped back.

"Well, as long as you understand then…I will have a couple of guards accompany you just in case. And I don't mean to annoy you further but recently I heard reports of some shady folks being spotted around your family's shrine so make sure you are extra cautious and try to make your visit as brief as possible."

"Huh…shady folks, why would anyone be loitering around my family's shrine?'

"I don't know. I can only assume that it is some lowly Britannian or maybe one of our own people trying to find something valuable and hoping to sell it for a profit. I'm still trying to use my contacts to look deeper into it. Anyways like I just said, be careful out there."

"…Alright." Kaguya dejectedly replied as she gave in to Kirihara's demands.

Space…

Afterwards Kaguya made her way out to her family's shrine, which was outside the border Narita. On her way there she was being accompanied by two bodyguards that were assigned by Kirihara to watch over and protect her.

As Kaguya and her company were getting closer to their destination with the shrine within eyes length she thought she saw something for a moment and stopped. Kaguya then looked over to her right and looked over at a nearby bush as she believed for a moment it was rustling.

One of Kaguya's guards then stepped forward while pulling his gun out and aimed it at the bush.

"Whoever is in there get out at once with your hands in the air! If you don't then…" The guardsman shouted as he slowly started to pull on the trigger.

The bush then began rustling wildly as a pair of open hands shot out and soon enough a person slid themselves out. Their appearance was that of a man in his late thirties with dark brown hair and was wearing a business suit along with a fedora.

"Wait…Stop…Don't shoot…I surrender!" The stranger frantically shouted out as he slowly stepped out of the bush with his hands still in the air and had a defeated look on his face.

"Who are you and what are you doing on my family's sacred grove?" Kaguya questioned the man with a serious tone of choice as she wondered what his story was.

"Ah yes, of course…if you just give me a moment I will explain everything to you…Ah, ahem…" The man replied as he cleared his throat before he continued to speak.

"My name is Harald Thompson. I am a member of Britannia's Office of Secret Intelligence. Here is my badge."

As Harald introduced himself he put his hands down, pulled out a wallet and opened it to reveal his identification card and official badge to the young girl and her guards.

"And you…you must be Miss Kaguya Sumeragi I presume?" Harald continued to say.

Kaguya was surprised for a moment that someone from Britannia's secret intelligence was here and that they were able to identify her easily.

"Huh, I uh…surprised you know me." Kaguya hesitantly replied back.

"But of course...It's critical to my job that I know important people like you. Speaking of which I have been meaning to plan a visit so I could ask you a question on something."

"Ask me something…Is that why you were hiding around in the bushes earlier?"

When Harald heard Kaguya ask that question he broke out into laughter for a moment before replying.

"Hahaha…No, no, this is merely a chance encounter…A coincidence...Honestly. Besides, I am sure you already know this but we have received reports of shady folks loitering around your family sacred shrine. I was merely staking out this place in the hopes of finding these hoodlums."

" _Yeah, and you are probably the shady one loitering about here…"_ Kaguya thought to herself as she stared suspiciously at the suited man.

"You don't believe me, do you? Well, it's understandable for an Eleven to mistrust a Britannian Official like me." Harald responded as he hid his eyes behind his fedora and made a wide grin on his face.

"You dare call Lady Kaguya an Eleven!" One of guards yelled as he whipped out his gun again and aimed it at Harald, who continued to smile at Kaguya's group.

"Woah, watch where you point that thing…That weapon can easily kill someone you know! I was only stating the obvious!" Harald cowardly replied while covering his face behind his hands.

"Hey, calm down and put your weapon away!" Kaguya ordered.

"But…my lady…" The guard tried to protest.

"It's alright…Stand down and let me deal with him. I have decided to believe his words…for now." Kaguya insisted.

The guard then paused for a moment before putting his gun away and went to stand next to Kaguya's side once more.

"Very impressive Miss Kaguya…You do live up to your family's reputation after all." Harald proudly proclaims as he clapped his hands.

"So, you said you wanted to ask me something? I suppose I will allow it as long as you keep it briefly as I do have other matters to attend to today."

"Ah, yes of course. I will try to keep this as short and simple as I am aware that you keep a pretty tight schedule. Ahem…now then…"

Before Harald continued to speak he cleared his throat once again.

"Now do you, Kaguya Sumeragi, happen to know anything about something called the Sumeragi's Legacy?"

"Huh, Sumeragi's Legacy…?" Kaguya asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"I will take that as a no. Oh well…" Harald said with disappointment and began to turn and walk away until he was called out to.

"Hey, what a minute! What is this Sumeragi Legacy's you speak of?" Kaguya called out to Harald.

Harald stopped where he was, and with his back still turned away, he tucked his fedora over his eyes and grinned again before turning back away.

"Who knows, that is what Britannia and I would like to know too. That is my current assignment you see, to find the answer. It has recently come to my country's attention that Area 11 hides a secret called the Sumeragi's Legacy. We have no idea what this is so they tasked me with finding the answer. We need to find out if Sumeragi's Legacy will be threat or not, and if it is…we will have to do something about it…Can't have it be used against us now, can we. However, I will be kind enough and share what I do about it so far."

"And that is…?"

"Well, according to what I have researched so far I believe that Sumeragi's Legacy may have something to do with a war that occurred in your country around one thousand years ago. Your people would probably remember it as the Genpei War back in the...I believe the Heian period if I am saying it right."

"Huh…Genpei War…Heian period…"

"Yes, that's right…The war between the Minamoto and Tairo clans, two big military based families who were bitter rivals with each other and eventually broke out into that big nasty war I just mentioned. And there was also the Fujiwara family who were also big and popular during that era and may have also been involved in the war…maybe…possibly…I don't know. Anyways, amongst the Minamoto clan they had many allies, one of them being the Sumeragi family, who were rising up in popularity with the citizens at the time. I have also read that it was thanks to the Sumeragi family that the Minamoto clan won one of the final battles before the war ended thanks to a certain…something."

"And you believe that 'something' has to do with the Sumeragi's Legacy?" Kaguya asked.

"Ding ding ding…Bingo, that's correct!" Harald triumphantly congratulated Kaguya.

"Wow, I'm surprised to hear a Britannian know so much about Japanese history."

"Heheh, I might not look like it but I will have you know that I do know my history quite well." Harald chuckled as he grinned at Kaguya.

"But still, why tell me all of this?"

"Why, hmmm…Who knows, maybe I just felt like sharing what I know to someone else. Or maybe I felt like reminding you of the struggles the Elevens are facing now. Speaking of which, and I know I'm slightly changing the subject here but I heard from some of my other co-workers from secret intelligence mention that some of them are suspecting that someone from the Kyoto House, or maybe several of them, are secretly assisting terrorist group around Area 11, you know like the Black Knights for example."

"Huh, what makes you think I know anything about that?" Kaguya said with a slight scent of nervousness in her voice."

"Oh uh, I'm not saying I'm suspecting you are anything, honestly. I'm just merely stating what the others at secret intelligence are thinking, that's all. I'm sure you are smart enough to know that assisting terrorists is a grave offense against Britannia and that those who are caught end up meeting an unfortunate fate. I just thought that maybe I should mention it and you could spread the word to the other members at Kyoto and, I don't know, maybe encourage them to think twice about possible committing such heinous actions."

"Yes, I am very aware of that. But I assure you that no one amongst the Kyoto family is involved with any terrorists. And besides, if Britannia had better policies about the people and cultures they conquer maybe there wouldn't be so many rebels and terrorists retaliating against your country." Kaguya confidently said.

Harald responded by once again covering his face and grinning.

"Ha, well said. Then let's leave it at that for now. In any case I believe I took up enough of your time. I also have other places to be. Anyways, I must thank you for spending the time to answer my simple question, despite the fact that I gained nothing out of it. But hey, maybe I at least imparted you with some knowledge you may not have learned yet."

He then took his hat off for a moment and gave a short bow before leaving.

"Ah yes, I must thank you too for this meeting." Kaguya politely answered back.

"In any case farewell, Kaguya Sumeragi."

With a wave of his hand Harald said goodbye and started to walk away. After taking a few steps though he stopped for moment.

"Oh yes, one final thing. Inside the Sumeragi Shrine, in the back there might be some loose floorboard that may conceal something. Honestly though, I haven't been able to confirm that information because…you know, I wouldn't dare step into your family's sacred shrine with my presence…Kekeke..." Harald said without turning around. He also started to crack into a brief laughter.

"Huh, what do you mean by that?" Kaguya asked Harald.

However, the suited man didn't respond and instead continued to leave the area.

Once Harald was out of view one of Kaguya's guards stepped forward.

"Should I tail him?"

"…No, its fine. We should leave him be for now."

"If you say so."

Afterwards Kaguya and her guards arrived in front of the Sumeragi Shrine.

"Would it be too much a problem if we accompanied you inside, Miss Kaguya?" One of the guards asked.

"Don't worry, I will be fine. You shouldn't let that weird guy from secret intelligence bother you."

"But that Harald guy seemed awfully suspicious. He obviously knows more than what he was letting on. He even seems to be aware of Kyoto supporting terro…ugh…"

Before he finished the guard was elbowed in the shoulder by the other guard.

"Shhh…! Keep your mouth shut, this may be Sumeragi Shrine but we are still out in the open!"

"S-Sorry…"

Kaguya simply laughed for a moment before commenting.

"Haha, how sweet of you too. But seriously don't worry about it. Everything will be fine. Just stay here and I will be back shortly." Kaguya said as she stepped into the shrine and closed the doors shut on her guards. She then looked towards the back side of the shrine.

"Now…"

Kaguya originally planned to just offer her prayers to her family members and just enjoy being outside to get some fresh air today. However, because of her encounter with that mysterious man named Harald Thompson she was both excited and curious about this Sumeragi's Legacy he mentioned and wanted to find out as much about it as she could. There was no way she was going to allow Britannia to find it if she could prevent that.

Kaguya remembered Harald mentioning something at the end about there being something in the back of the room. She didn't know if it could be a trap but she decided to investigate it anyways and headed to the back of the room.

Kaguya started to press her foot down on the wooden planks on the floor and after several attempts eventually discovered one creaking in the back right corner of the room.

"Ha, I found it!" Kaguya said out loud to herself.

Kaguya then got down and carefully tried to remove the wooden plank off the floor. She had to make sure to remove it slowly so her guards outside wouldn't hear her and try to stop her.

When she successfully took the wooden plank off she glanced down the hole and saw something that looked like a door.

"Huh, what is this?"

Kaguya then noticed a handle and pulled it which caused the door to open. She then saw staircases that lead deeper inside.

"Wow, an underground staircase! I wonder where this leads."

As curiosity built up inside her Kaguya decided to head down the staircase and see where it would lead her. She also decided to bring a lit candle with her so she would be able to see.

Once she reached the bottom of the staircase Kaguya found herself inside of a dark narrow tunnel.

"Brrr…it's cold down here…" Kaguya said to herself as she started to shiver. Because the temperature was so low down there she decided to keep her exploration brief.

As Kaguya walked down the hallway she shone her light on the wall and noticed strange markings on the wall.

"Are these hieroglyphics on the wall? But something is strange here…This isn't ancient Japanese writing at all."

Kaguya stopped for a moment so she could stare at the strange writing on the wall. However as much as she tried Kaguya couldn't figure what it said or meant.

"Oh, I have no clue on what these words say at all or if they are suppose to say anything at all!"

After giving up on the hieroglyphs Kaguya continued on her way through the tunnel until she saw a light give way to an opening.

Once she entered where the lights were Kaguya found herself inside ancient ruins of what may have once been a temple of some sort. The temple was completely caved in underground as Kaguya looked up and noticed light trying to creep in through the surface above her. She also concluded that this temple must have been encased underground a long time ago, probably by an earthquake.

"I wonder if the shrine was built on top of this place." Kaguya wondered.

As Kaguya's eyes veered off in every direction of this open spaced area she soon noticed something peculiar in the center of the room.

In the center of the room there were five small steps that held up a small pedestal of some sort. As Kaguya got closer she saw an ancient sword stuck in the pedestal.

"Oooo, what's this…" Kaguya wondered as she went up to get a closer look at the sword.

As she stood in front of the pedestal Kaguya noted the sword looked a lot like a katana and it had a blue orb embedded inside the middle of the sword's hilt. Kaguya then reached her hand out to touch the sword.

Once she grabbed the katana with both hands she suddenly felt an electrical surge shock her entire body and she yelped out in pain as she quickly let go. She then stepped back which caused her to trip on the step below her and fell to the ground.

"Owww…Stupid sword…" Kaguya pouted as she rubbed her behind.

Still, she had no idea what just happened to her. Kaguya then looked back over at the katana and noticed the blue orb on it was glowing now along with sparks shooting out around the sword's hilt. Not only that, but there was a bird like symbol that appeared inside the orb and it looked like it was staring at her with anger. It caused Kaguya to gasp for a moment as she hesitated to do anything. Soon the strange symbol disappeared and the blue orb stopped giving off a glow.

Kaguya didn't know what to think.

"I wonder…could this katana might possibly have anything to do with…"

However, Kaguya decided to push the thought aside for now as she figured it was time to head back.

Once Kaguya arrived back at the shrine she made sure to cover the entrance back up and quickly made her prayers before exiting.

"You have been in there for quite some time." One of the guards said once he saw Kaguya exiting the shrine.

"So, I had a lot to say to my deceased family members, that's all." Kaguya proclaimed.

"I apologize, I just thought that maybe you…"

"Come on now, don't be silly. Besides, we should probably head back home now." Kaguya said while trying to keep a cheery tone of voice.

Space…

Afterwards Kaguya was safely escorted back to Kyoto. As she roamed through the empty hallways Kaguya once again bumped into Kirihara, who looked like he was in a good mood."

"Ah Kaguya, there you are. I was wondering when you were coming back. Was everything okay at the shrine?" Kirihara happily said.

"Huh, o-of course…There was no trouble at all." Kaguya replied. It appeared that her guards haven't reported to Kirihara yet.

"Well that's good to hear." Kirihara said with relief.

"You sound like you are in a good mood." Kaguya pointed out.

"Yes, well I you could so that; for both you, me and everyone else in the Kyoto House. We discovered something very important about…You know what, you'll find out soon enough."

"Huh, what is it, what is it?" Kaguya said with excitement. If Kirihara was excited about something, it must be important.

"Actually, I am about to hold a meeting about it with the other leading families of Kyoto. It's mandatory for you to present as well Kaguya. Now, let's be on our way."

Kaguya then complied with Kirihara's words and headed off for the meeting room with him. She contemplated with herself as to whether to ask Kirihara about Sumeragi's Legacy but decided to hold off on that till a later time.

Moving back to the Main Stage…


	21. Stage 17

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Stage 17: Kamine Island: The Island of E

Suzaku jumped into a pond and started to catch fish to eat for supper.

"Oh wow…you're not bad at that."

"Do you want to try it too? I'll tell you what; I will let you loose if you promise me to find food. Is that a deal?"

"Hmph…you are not going to win me over so why try! What do you take me for!" Kallen replied as her cheeks puffed up.

"Man, you are stubborn! You are not anything like you were at school." Suzaku called out with a happy expression on his face.

Suzaku then thought back to how everything seemed to have become strange today.

Suzaku didn't know how he got there but when awakened he found himself on another island. After exploring the forest in hope of finding food and water he came across Kallen Kozuki, who was also on this island for some reason. When Suzaku noticed that she had a Black Knights uniform on her she immediately noticed his presence and tried to retaliate against him with a knife hidden in her pouch. Even though Suzaku was shocked at the revelation he just witnessed he was still able to stop her rampage and restrain her. Once Kallen was tied up so she couldn't move her arms or legs Suzaku tried to talk to her.

"I still don't really want to believe it but it's really you."

"Hmph…so what?"

"Kallen Stadtfeld, you really are a…"

"Don't call me by that name! My real name is Kallen Kozuki, I'm Japanese, you hear that!"

"Huh…no kidding, then you really are…"

"Yes, I am a Black Knight! I am not going to hide that anymore!"

"Well then Kallen Kozuki, Iam placing you under arrest for conspiracy and rebellion against Britannia!"

After Suzaku calmed himself down with the revelation of the real Kallen before him, he tried to find out how she ended up on this island, but to no avail.

"I see…you don't know what happened either. When you came to you found yourself on this island. Is that right?"

"Hmph…so you are stranded here too huh…Serves you right! When my people get here, you are the one who will be a prisoner!"

"You mean Zero will come to save you?"

"Without a doubt!"

"Okay, before he does tell me one thing…tell me who he really is…"

Kallen looked after from Suzaku before answering.

"…Why don't you find out for yourself?"

"Oh, I see, you don't know either."

"How did…"

"Isn't masking one's identity a bigger fraud? I am curious…why do you follow Zero?"

"I don't know. Figure it out yourself."

Suzaku then dived back into the water to search out one more fish for the day.

I sat cross armed in the hanger inside my Proto-Gekka's cockpit while looking at the Guren which stood next to my knightmare. Kallen's face appeared in my mind. Kallen who had guided the amnesiac me; Kallen who had recommended me to the Black Knights.

"Are you that worried?"

I was suddenly called out to. I looked down to see C.C. sitting on the tall maintenance ladder that led up to my knightmare.

"I know where Zero and Kallen are."

"I haven't heard about any such information yet…"

"I just know."

"Are the two of them alive?"

"Yes, they are on Kamine Island."

"Kamine Island…That isn't far from Shikine Island."

"It seems you believe my words. In that case will you go rescue them for me?"

"I would go…but how can I get there?

"Take a Portman. That woman called Rakshata seems to have made us capture one in order to use it as a reference in her research."

The amphibious-designed Britannian Knightmare Frame. With that it may even be possible to pass through their patrol network.

"I'm going." I said as I got up and headed for the Portman.

"I knew you would." C.C. confidently replied.

I then got in the Portman and C.C. opened the hatch so I could dive underwater.

"Good luck, I am sure you will find your visit on Kamine Island to be quite intriguing." C.C. ominously said.

"Huh…what does that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing, just go already."

I then launched myself into the water with the Portman.

Later on that night after Suzaku and Kallen ate supper…

"Oh, I can't eat another bite! Boy am I stuffed!" Kallen said as she finished eating.

"So is this a glimpse of what you are really like?" Suzaku said.

"Yeah, you want to make something of it?"

"No, I think it is charming to see you so much more livelier than you are at school."

Suzaku then put his fish down.

"…Kallen, leave the Black Knights. It is not too late. A captured terrorist never winds up with a happy ending."

"I thought you weren't so bad and then you show me your true colors! Well that won't work. I happen to be the Captain of Zero's elite guards. In fact, I fought you in my knightmare."

"Were you that red one?"

"Yeah, and even if I lose my life doing it, I will beat that knightmare of yours some day."

"Using Zero's methods…offers no future."

"And what about your future then? To just live the life of a conqueror's laugh dog…An honorary Britannian…Or to be the knight of the third princess? Hah…The name of Genbu Kururugi, the last samurai weeps! I am not like you! The world is wrong and I am trying to change it! And I am going to do whatever it takes to win!"

"…So, what about Rai?"

"Huh, what about him?"

"Is he a member of the Black Knights as well? You two always seem to be together when I see you guys at school. And recently I have been getting the feeling he is trying to hide something from me whenever I try to talk to him."

Kallen seemed shocked when Suzaku already figured out about Rai too.

"I guess there is no point in keeping that a secret anymore either. Yes, that is right; Rai is a member of the Black Knights as well!"

"That is what I feared the moment I found you on this island. Why did you do that to him? How could you make him become a terrorist?"

"Well, you might not know this but Rai is a Japanese. That speaks for itself doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't! That doesn't justify anything! You took someone who doesn't know any better or anything about the current situation and you are just twisted him into becoming a criminal like Zero!"

"You don't know anything about Rai! He understands what is wrong with Area 11 and he wants to help me free this land. And he is not a criminal; he is an ally of the weak, a true knight for justice! You could never truly understand him!"

"I see now that I should have done something sooner. I never imagined the two of you would turn out like this!"

"Oh right, because if you were in charge of helping him you probably would have made him join the Britannian Military with you!"

"It's better than having him breaking the rules and causing a disturbance of the peace!"

"Peace…What kind of peace are you talking about! As far as I can see there is no peace in Japan right now!"

"I can't believe the things I am hearing from you! I never thought you were like this! Tell me, do you even care about Rai?"

"Wha-What the hell are you talking about now?"

"Or are you just using him and his abilities just to please Zero and the Black Knights? I can't believe you would do such a thing to him!"

"You got it all wrong!"

"Oh, so are you saying you actually do have feelings for him or something then?"

"I…uh…" Kallen didn't seem to know what to say.

"You could never understand how I feel about him! I'm done talking to you about this!"

And with that Kallen lied down and went to sleep.

By the time I arrived at Kamine Island it was already morning. I got out of the Portman and was ready to start the search when I heard a voice call out to me.

 _"Finally, you came back to me."_

I looked around to see who was talking but I didn't see anyone. It was that strange voice again. Did I just imagine it or something, am I hallucinating? In any case I will need to be more careful from here on.

I started searching for Zero and Kallen in the forest. After looking around for a while I found Suzaku and Kallen walking together towards an open area. I then saw Euphemia come out while calling Suzaku's name.

"Suzaku…!"

"Don't move! This girl is my prisoner!" Zero said as he jumped out, grabbed Euphemia's arm and had a gun pointed at her head.

I decided to stay in hiding to see what happens.

"I will take back my subordinate you have there! We will exchange prisoners!" Zero suggested.

"Zero, once again you…!" Suzaku said as he started to step forward.

"Keep back! Hmph…You find my actions cowardly? Eliminate terrorists no matter what the sacrifice. Do you intend to follow the rules and let your mistress die, in spite of the fact that your integrity has already been broken?"

Kallen then came from behind and attacked Suzaku while trying to tie him up.

"Leave him alone!" Euphemia ordered.

"Shut up you royal puppet, you are useless! You can't think for yourself or do anything!"

"What...! I am not afraid of you and I don't care what happens to me! Suzaku I command you to fight!"

"With pleasure!" Suzaku said as he broke free of the rope, shoved Kallen away and ran towards Zero and Euphemia.

"You hardheaded fool!"

Zero ran away from Suzaku and stood on the center of the rectangle they were all standing on which caused a bird-like sigil to appear on the rectangle. At that same time I felt my head started to swell up.

"Huh…what's going on?" I said silently to myself.

The platform they were standing on then started to collapse as they fell into the cave below and landed on the pedestal-like ruins. There were hieroglyphs plastered all over the walls of the underground ruins. Suddenly my head cleared up and I felt fine again. Well that was strange. I then walked over to the hole so I could see what was going to happen. I made sure to keep my presence a secret though.

"Major Kururugi…and is that…Zero?" Lloyd called out.

The Britannian soldier then got ready to fire but was stopped by a large, heavyweight military officer.

"Don't shoot you fools! Princess Euphemia is with them! Capture them, capture them!" He ordered.

"Look Zero, there is a knightmare over there!" Kallen shouted out.

"Perfect, we will use that! Let's go!"

Zero then ran over to the black knightmare.

"This is good! Not only unmanned, but activated too!" Zero said as he got the knightmare ready to go.

"Gawain…? What kind of knightmare is this? It must be my lucky day…wait…what is Schniezel doing here!" Zero said as he looked down and saw a man garbed in royalty below him.

From where I was I soon saw the black knightmare reappear in the sky. It was somehow able to float and fly in the air.

"Wow, so knightmares are capable of that now?" I wondered as I stared at the knightmare in the sky.

Soon its presence disappeared and I continued to wait in my hiding spot for the soldiers to leave the area.

Once I was sure that they were gone I slid my way down the hole and stood on the platform that Zero and the others were on previously. I began to wonder what was so special about this place that the Britannian military would be interested in investigating it.

I took a look around and noticed a structure was now on top of the giant pedestal in the center of the cavern. There was a gaping rectangular opening in the ceiling right above it. Rather than collapsing from the ceiling, it felt like the board of stone that was now atop the pedestal had descended onto it instead. It now looked like an elevator somewhat. Beyond that there appeared to be something that resembled a giant stone gate. Did this cave used to be some kind of temple in the past, I wondered? The group of stone pillars went all the way from the entrance to this giant pedestal.

As I continued to look around the ancient ruins a mysterious design and indecipherable letters were carved into the surface of the walls surrounding the pedestal. I wonder what past era it belongs to? I then suddenly heard a voice call out to me.

 _"Go ahead…touch it."_

"W-Who's there!?" I was spooked when I heard that mysterious voice again and turned around to see no one there. But I still heard the voice talking to me.

 _"Touch the Thought Elevator and the truth about yourself will be revealed to you."_

I didn't know what was going to happen but I placed my hand on the stone monument near the pedestal. When I did that I noticed the strange hieroglyphs on the walls were glowing with a red tint. The next thing I know I felt like I was suddenly devoured by a bright light surrounding me.

Rakshata was in the hanger checking on her Gefjun Disturber system when one of her research crew members approached her.

"Miss Crowla, the test results from Kyoto has just come in." The man said as he handed her some papers.

"I see, so Kirihara is done with their testing as well."

Rakshata then looked at the papers.

"Well there's no mistaking it now. Their results are the same as mine. This boy really is from that family after all."

"Should I notify Zero about this madam?"

"Hmm…we should wait and tell Zero after we finish modifying and get test results from this new machine he brought me." Rakshata said as she looked up at the black knightmare.

When I finally regained my sense of self I found myself sprawled out on the ground. As I raised my upper torso I rested my hand on my forehead as I tried to regain my train of thought. What just happened? Was this all just another dream or was that all actually reality? I just don't know anymore. It all felt like it was real but at the same time…

Before I could think about it further a voice called out to interrupt my thoughts.

"Ah, so you finally woke up. I was wondering how much longer you were going to keep me waiting."

I immediately turned my head in the direction of the voice and my eyes widened at what I just witnessed. It was a woman whose voice sounded just like the one that was calling out to me back on the island. She had blue hair along with red colored eyes. The woman was also wearing a light weighted silver colored coat.

She was sitting on the steps leading to what appears to be an altar. Not only that, but in the distance behind her there was what appeared to be a moon suspended in the air, radiating what seemed to be a blue aura around itself. Flashbacks of that previous dream started flashing in my mind. That moon, that altar, that woman; they all appeared to me in that dream before. The question now was what happens now?

After I stood myself up I nervously took one step back as I tried to understand my current condition. I felt frustrated for some reason. As I continue to look at the woman something keep trying to click in my head. I knew this person somehow, there was definitely something important about her but I just couldn't remember.

As I continued to stare at her the blue haired woman took notice of my silence and called out to me.

"What's the matter Rai…Is something wrong?"

She knew my name. That must mean…

"You…Do I know you…and you know me?" I nervously replied.

The woman appeared to be amused by what I just said as she started to laugh with a smile on her face as she came down the staircase and went over to where I stood.

"Ha…Know me, I sure do hope so. You and I have known each other for the last seventeen years now."

It was at that moment that I felt something come over me. I didn't really understood why but I felt joy overwhelm my emotions. I looked down and couldn't help but smile. I felt happy and relieved to know that I finally came across someone who at least seemed aware of who I was.

"You…You really do know who I am! You don't know how long I have been searching for to find an opportunity like this to arise!" I shouted as I ran over to where the woman stood.

"My, I must say it has been quite some time since I have seen you so excited and full of emotion over something." The woman said as she reeled herself back with shock on her face.

"Now why in the world would you be so excited to see me? It's almost as if…" The woman continued to say.

She then paused for a moment before as if she just realized something.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot what that 'witch' did to your memories. I don't recall agreeing that she could do that to you. Hmph…she thinks she can use her powers to do petty things such as erasing someone's memories like that just to ease her own boredom? She will never learn. Oh well, I will have to make sure to punish her for that the next time I run into her."

The blue haired woman then looked over at me and noticed the confused look on my face.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot you were still here. Ever since we were separated two months ago I have been all alone in my own Thought Elevator with very few people to speak to. But…you have no idea what I have been going on about for a while do you?"

"W-Well…" I stumbled to speak properly as I glanced away from her.

"In any case, let's sit down somewhere and talk about it. There is much to discuss."

The woman then coaxed her hand towards me to follow her and we both sat down on the steps leading up towards the altar.

"Now, what is the first memory that comes to mind since you have awakened and found yourself like this? I want to hear your side of the story." The blue haired woman asked.

I then took the opportunity to explain everything that happened to me while I was in Area 11. I started with telling her about how I ended up at Ashford and the people I met there. As I talked to her it almost felt like I was talking to a long lost relative.

"I see…Sounds like an interesting school. A little bit too laid-back and carefree for my tastes but I suppose that is to be expected from that family. At the very least it sounds like you made some friends. Your parents would be happy to hear that."

"You know my parents?" I questioned her.

When she heard that the woman looked away as if she wanted to hide the sadness that suddenly appeared on her face.

"…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring them up. I promise that everything will be explained soon. But for now please do continue on."

Afterwards I continued to tell her my story up till now. I even told her about my involvement with the Black Knights. At first I was hesitant to her about them but for some reason I felt it was okay to mention that bit to her. I didn't know why but something told me I could trust her and I continued to babble on to her.

"I see…Kyoshiro Tohdoh became Lieutenant Colonel before the war happened. I see that he managed to grow up a little bit at least."

"You know Tohdoh?"

"No, not really…Someone I know just so happens to knew him personally. But still…The Black Knights huh. You decided to join up with a group of ruffians like them just to find clues to your memories. Didn't you ever stop to think that might be going a little bit too far? Surely you could have found another way?"

"Yeah, maybe. I will admit that I have thought about that too at times. But in the end I felt that I needed to do it. Not just to find clues to my memories but because I think that Britannia goes too far sometimes with how they treat anyone who is not of Britannian blood. I don't know how I can help with that to be honest but I don't want to just sit down and ignore it if there is something I can do."

"Hmph…At least that part still stuck with you."

"Huh…"

"Nothing, I'm just glad that you are still alright. It seems you went through quite an ordeal to get here."

"Speaking of which, what is this place?" I asked as I gazed my eyes around my surroundings. This place looked like something that was outside of this world.

"Ah yes, about this place…Would it just be fine to say that this place is a haven that was created to protect you and I from normal people like those Britannians."

"Protect us…what do you mean by that?"

"Anyways, we have more important matters to get to. You are still missing your memories as you still have no idea who I am. But before we get to that tell me, how important is it for you to regain your memories?" The mysterious woman said as she brushed my question aside.

"Huh what are you talking about?" I replied back with a question.

I didn't understand what was happening. The truth, who I was in the past. The possibility of finally knowing all the answers I have been longing for are within my grasp, despite everything that has happen till now. I thought she was finally going to tell me who I really am. I figured she would be the first person who would want my memories restored. Instead, she started questioning my motives.

"The way I see it, from what you just told me it sounds like you are rather fortunate no? You met new people, made friends and companions. You are still learning at an official institution while fighting for you believe is right. It sounds like you have a new life now, new memories, new happiness. What need do you have for your old self?"

"That may be true but I don't understand…What about you? I figured that since you know me you would have missed me in the time I have been gone and I would think you would have been trying to make me remember my true self.

"You are right…I do very much want you to remember everything. However, there is no point in me doing so unless I know that you are also committed to it. And while it does seem like you do want to remember it only seems like you want to remember out of curiosity."

"Well, what other reason would I have? Your questions and reasoning aren't making much sense. You are almost making it sound like something bad happened in my life that changed me or caused me pain and suffering."

The woman was silent for a moment when she heard that.

"…Well, there may be some truth to that. And for the sake of the argument let's say something terrible did occur in your past. After all who people are, their characteristics, their values, their ethics, their beliefs, they are all determined by things they or others they know have said or actions they have taken. You are but a mere shell of your former self, whose current characteristics, values, ethics and beliefs was forged out of everyone you met and the things you have done in the last two months. I wonder…do you have what it takes accept your past, no matter much pain, sadness, are traumatic it might have caused. You may have had a good past with nothing but happy times, but all it takes is one severe incident to completely destroy one's past and life."

I just stood there dumbfounded by everything she just said. That woman said so much, that was a lot to take in. I still don't understand what her objective was. I thought she was going to tell the truth of who I really am. Was there something she was trying to hide from me, was my past really that bad, or was she simply trying to protect me on a whim of kindness? I couldn't understand her motives.

Regardless, my mind has already been made up the second that woman mentioned the possibility of curing my amnesia.

"Look, to be completely honest I still don't understand what you are trying to accomplish here. I don't know if you are trying to warn me about something but I have already gone through so much to get here. I have to accept the fact of who I really am no matter how good or bad it was. Besides, if I walk away right now I would just be lying to myself. I have to know who I really am. Ever since I woke up with amnesia all I ever thought about was regaining my memories. I made that my ultimate objective, to learn the truth. I won't be able to satisfy myself until I know everything!"

"And what of the people you have come to know…What about your future…What do you plan to do if you regain your memories?"

"I will figure it out as I go along. Until I have a clear grasp on everything I won't be able to move forward towards any future." I said with confidence.

The woman simply gave me a smile when I said that.

"Heh, spoken like your true self. In fact I couldn't have said it any better. I told them I was right to believe in you. I can almost see the true you right now. You pass."

"I pass…What are you talking about? Were you just testing me?"

"Yes, from the moment when I started questioning your motives and up till now I was merely putting on an act. All to give a simple test to see your resolve. And you are right; you are making the right choice. Knowing the truth is essential, not only to you but to everyone. Those who cannot accept the truth are simply cowards who are afraid to accept the reality around them and continuously attempt to run from it, their lives forever stuck in the past with no hope to ever move forward towards the future. Besides, deep down inside your conscience you already know you cannot run away from a fate that you already chosen long ago."

"Yeah, I can feel it too. I feel like…if I don't remember my past soon something bad will happen to me."

"You can sense it too huh…I see. Then let's not waste anymore time here. Come, follow me."

The woman gave me gesture with her hand to follow her.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"I could spend days trying to explain your past to you and that will simply take far too long. Besides, I know of a simpler method that will also remove the curse that 'witch' placed on you."

Curse, I wonder what she means by that. Although I probably shouldn't ask her right now.

We both then headed up the pile of steps she was sitting on before and headed to the top of an altar. In front of us stood a lone platform. Its appearance was that of a control panel.

"What is that?" I asked the woman.

"That is the key to regaining your memories."

"But what is it?"

"Hmmm…"

The woman was silent again before answering.

"…I don't believe I ever told you about this place. No matter, it is still too soon to tell you about it. Someday I will reveal everything but for now all you need to know now is that there are some things in this world that are beyond human understanding. And everyday people go on living without knowing that what is usually impossible, may in fact, be completely possible. That control panel right there is a perfect example of being able to do things that most people assume is impossible to do. It is a form of what I call a Thought Terminal and is capable of containing records of a human's thoughts, dreams, and of course their memories as well. All you must simply do is place your hand on it and you will be able to access everything you need to know about yourself. And that is all I can tell you about it right now."

As the woman finished speaking I just looked at her in disbelief. I didn't know what to think. What she just said sounded completely out of this world. Still, I had no choice but to test her words. I went over and placed my right hand on the platform.

Soon after I did that I noticed strange symbols appearing on the pedestal and was glowing with a red tint. The next thing I knew I felt an electrical surge flow throughout my body and enter straight into my brain. An intense pain pierced my head and I screamed out in pain.

Something was invading my mind as things were forcing themselves into me. I started hearing familiar voices, seeing images forcing direct contact with my eyes, a smell of nostalgia running right up my nose. What are all of these things…Wait a minute…I know all of this…these are…my memories.

The pain running through my head was so great I fell to my knees and started to breath heavily. As I tried to catch my breath I spoke out to the woman whose name I now know.

"I…I remember now…It's…all coming back to me…E.E."

Moving on to the next Stage…


	22. Stage 18

Code Geass: Colorless Memories

Chapter 18: Colors of the Past

 **3:12 P.M. May 16, 2008 a.t.b.**

It was a bright and sunny day with good weather. Out in the luxurious, wide-open green fields an eight year old Rai was chasing after his younger sister, who was five years old and had pink hair and green eyes. Her name was Sakura. Both of them was running around aimlessly around the field, laughing and having a good time. After chasing his sister for a while young Rai stopped for a moment to catch his breath. As he was catching his breath he turned to face a woman who was sitting on a blanket close by watching him and his sister.

This woman happened to be his mother, who had long black hair and also possessed green eyes like Rai's sister. Her name was Shizuka Sumeragi, a member of the prestigious Sumeragi family over from Japan.

Shizuka sat there and waved at him with a smile on her face. Seeing his mother smile caused him to form one himself as he waved back at her.

Rai also took notice of the woman sitting next to his mother. This woman's name was E.E. and it seemed that no matter where his mother was this woman was always at her side. Even though Rai's family had no blood relation to her, E.E. was treated as a family member and also lived with them. The young boy took notice that; compared to his mother, E.E. appeared to be much younger despite the two being close friends. Rai asked his mother about it once but she simply told him that E.E. just likes to make herself look young. While the young boy didn't really know if he should believe his mother's statement or not at first he eventually ended up accepting her claim.

E.E. noticed that Rai was looking at her so she simply gave a short wave of her hand while giving him a soft smile. The young boy responded with a quick wave and continued to run after his sister.

After a while the Shizuka called out to them and asked them to sit down so they can eat. Rai and Sakura then ran over to where their mother was and sat down on the blanket with her and E.E. Shizuka then placed a basket in the middle of the four them. She then picked out sandwiches from the basket and handed them to everyone. They all then sat there and ate until they had their fill. After they were all done eating Shizuka then pulled out some construction paper from the basket and starting making origami with it. She made all different kinds of shapes with the origami and everyone watched intently. She then handed Rai a piece of paper and asked him to make one. Rai then fiddled around with it until he made a pink flower which caused Sakura to call out to him with awe in her eyes.

"Oooh…what kind of flower is that onii-chan?"

"Oh this? It's called a cherry blossom." Rai said as he handed the flower origami over to Sakura and placed it in her hands.

"You mean it's named after me?" Sakura said as she continued to look at the origami.

"Yes, it is."

"It looks so pretty!" Sakura said in joy as she held the origami to her heart.

Afterwards Rai and Sakura went back out into the field. They continued to play until the sun started to go down and caused an orange tint in the sky. Rai's mother and E.E. then started to gather their things together and once they placed the blanket in the basket they called at the two young children.

"Rai, Sakura, it's time to go!" Shizuka hollered out to her children.

When they heard their mother both of them immediately ran over to her side and grabbed onto one of her hands, with Sakura grabbing her right while Rai grabbed her left. The four of them then proceeded to head back home.

* * *

 **9:52 A.M. March 3, 2012 a.t.b.**

Inside Shizuka's dojo, now twelve years old, Rai was perfecting his martial arts skills while holding a mock battle against a girl with blond hair. Rai came forward ready to strike her but she simply grabbed his wrist to stop him and then right after that quickly hit him in the chest with the palm of her hand. After being struck by the attack he was stunned and couldn't move which gave the girl a chance to strike again. She then came forward and flipped him down on the cushioned floor on his backside. The boy was shocked to see that he was defeated.

"Wow…you beat me again. So what is the record now…Leila Malcal?"

"Twenty-five to twenty-three, it's in my favor." The girl who was called Leila Malcal replied. Leila was at the same age as Rai and had long blond hair. Not only does she come to the dojo to receive martial arts lessons from Rai's mother she was also Rai's friend ever since they were nine. They knew each other because their fathers were good friends. Even though Rai's father was from Britannia and Leila's was from the E.U. they were on good terms with each other. Occasionally Leila would come to Britannia with one of her mentor Gene Smilias, a general of the E.U. army who would come to Britannia as an ambassador, to visit Rai and his family.

Rai's mother and E.E., who were sitting outside of the fighting arena, were watching them practice against each other. Once she saw what time it was on the clock Shizuka then got up and called out to the two kids.

"Okay, that's enough for now. It's time to get back to the books Leila, Rai."

Leila then helped Rai get back on his feet and then the four of them left the dojo. They then headed off for the living room where Shizuka sat on a wooden chair while Leila and Rai sat down on the floor near a coffee table that had their textbooks. They both then opened their textbooks to begin their lesson on Algebraic equations. Once Shizuka finished explaining the lesson to the two she stood up.

"I will leave you two to do your problems. Once you two are finished with that we can move on to history next."

"Okay mother." Rai said to his mother.

"I will do my best on this problems Sensei." Leila said to Rai's mother.

Shizuka simply stared at the two of them with a smile on her face.

Until recently, Rai and Sakura attended a normal Britannian school. But ever since the Second Pacific War, when Britannia invaded Japan and took control of the land as a Britannian territory they renamed it Area 11 which caused problems to occur. Since Shizuka was Japanese she was given the alien term "Eleven". And since Rai and Sakura shared a mix of Britannian and Japanese blood it resulted in them being called "Half-Breeds" and caused them to be made fun of and considered outsiders at their school.

Their parents took notice of this and decided to withdraw them from school and let their mother home-school them. It was later discovered that Shizuka, given her wide range of knowledge in all areas of studies turned out to very skilled as a teacher and another important quality of the her's teaching skills is that even after finishing the required lessons she would spend some extra time on keeping her kids one or two years ahead of the normal school curriculum to make sure they were well ahead of all their other peers their age. To Shizuka, education was an important quality that all children should have.

Even Leila, who went to a traditional school back in the E.U. was attracted by the teaching skills of Rai's mother and would want to come over and receive some extra teaching lessons while she visited Britannia. Even though Leila was a Britannian and the daughter of a former aristocrat family who was later adopted into the Malcal family she never discriminated against the Elevens. In fact, she refuses to call them Elevens and refer to them as Japanese, their old name. She even calls Rai's mother Sensei, just because she helps Leila with her martial arts training as well as giving her some extra education lessons. Leila especially holds high regard and respect towards Shizuka, who was said to have been one of Japan's best and brightest. It was said that not only was Shizuka intelligent but she could also fight pretty well. But in the end no matter how great she seemed most of the Britannian's common people didn't think much of her and only looked at her in disgust just because she happens to be an Eleven.

After they finished their studies for the day Leila and Rai headed back to the dojo to continue their training. Towards the end of the day Gene Smilias came to pick her up.

"Leila, our free time here in Britannia has ended. We need to head back to the E.U." Smilias said.

"Oh, okay. Goodbye everyone, I enjoyed my time here." Leila said as she waved to Rai, his mother and sister.

"Goodbye Leila, and next time I won't lose to you." Rai said to Leila.

"Yeah, we will see about that Rai." Leila gladly said.

"Goodbye Leila!" Sakura yelled out.

"Thank you for watching her." Gene said to Shizuka.

"It was no problem. I hope you two will a safe trip on your way back home." Shizuka said with a smile.

Rai then watched as Leila got in a taxi and drove off to an airport.

* * *

 **1:27 P.M. September 18, 2014 a.t.b.**

"Rrgh…This isn't over yet!" Rai yelled as he gripped the controls as he tried to recover his Glasgow's momentum.

Rai then regained his focus on the current enemy knightmare he was facing; a Glasgow painted in blue with white stripes.

"Heh, we will just see about that!" Rai's opponent said over an open communication channel.

The two Glasgows then had a standoff before charging at each other again. Both knightmares were only equipped with a tonfa on each arm.

Both Glasgows tried to strike at the same time with one of their tonfas. Sparks started to flicker about when the weapons made contact. Neither knightmare moved an inch as they tried to gain control of the power struggle.

"Tch…fine, in that case…" Rai said to himself as he pressed a button on his left control stick.

A slash harken then shot of the left chest of Rai's Glasgow and was aimed at the head of the enemy frame.

However, the enemy knightmare quickly reacted to Rai's attack and knocked the slash harken away with its other tonfa.

"What?!" Rai said out loud in surprise, with a shocked expression on his face.

"Ha, I saw that coming a mile away. Now take this!"

In the split moment that Rai was distracted by his failed attack the enemy Glasgow gained control of the battle and shoved Rai's tonfa out of the way. It then rammed its other tonfa right into the center of Rai's Glasgow.

"Got ya…That's two hits now. One more and I win this battle." Rai's adversary claimed.

"True, but I think you are forgetting that I also landed two blows on you already at the beginning of the match."

"Then how about we end this right now!" His opponent said as they detached a tonfa off their Glasgow's arm.

"Sure, why not." Rai complied as he also detached one of his tonfas.

The two Glasgows were then at a standoff once more, both ready to strike with their respective weapon.

"Here I go!"

"This is it!"

Both Glasgows took off and swung their weapon at the same time…and then…

* * *

Laughter erupted between the two pilots as they walked down the hallway together.

"Hahaha…Man that was a close one. I can't believe we both struck at the same time. I wonder who they will declare the winner."

"I don't know Michael. We will have to check the recording to get an actual result." Rai assured his companion, who full name was Michael Steinburg, as they both headed for the control room.

When they arrived Rai and Michael were greeted by two people; Jonathan Thurston, the Knight of Eight and the father of Rai and Sakura as well as Nonnette Enneagram, the Knight of Nine and who was good friends with Jonathan despite the difference in their ages.

"Hey guys, you're back. You two seemed to have an intense battle going on there. It was a really close match!" Jonathan said with excitement.

"So, who was the winner this time Sir Thurston? We are dying to know here." Michael asked out of curiosity.

"Well, we quickly watched the recorded footage and after slowing it down so we could get a clear shot the true winner of this mock battle was…"

"It was you Michael, but only but a mere millisecond. Too bad Rai, haha!" Nonnette finished Jonathan's sentence and then let out a hearty laugh.

"Ha, yes, victory is mine this time!" Michael said as he flash out a smile.

Meanwhile, Rai turned his head to the side and let out a sigh of dissatisfaction. Seeing that Nonnette walked over to Rai and started moving her hand across his hair, causing it to become more wild and disorganized.

"C'mon Rai, you can't win them all ya know." Nonnette cheerfully said.

"…I know. You don't need to tell me." Rai replied as he glared up at her to make her stop messing with him.

He then turned his attention towards Michael.

"I'm kind of disappointed that I lost there but still, thank you for the match Michael. I'm glad to have someone with skills equal to mine for my knightmare simulation training."

"Heh thanks. I could say the same about you." Michael replied with gratitude.

The two young boys then shook hands with each other.

"Speaking of which, have you decided to register for the military academy back in the capital?" Michael asked Rai.

"Huh…Well…Umm…I'm still thinking about that and…"

"Oh come on, it will be great to have you around and we will get to hang out more often. Yeah, I know that the academy will have their fair share of rich snobs around there but if you are worried because of your ethnicity then don't be; I got a tight group of friends who will also be attending and I am sure you all would get along just fine." Michael said with reassurance.

"I sure hope you are right about that."

"Also, Lady Nonnette drops by the academy from time to time and offers students a special class about piloting knightmares. So you will be able to see her more often as well."

"Yeah, but you see I don't know if I want to see her more than I already do though." Rai said with doubt as he looked over at Nonnette, who was currently in a conversation with his father.

Later on Michael and Nonnette had to leave which left Rai and his father alone in the room.

"Well, it really seems like Nonnette and Michael both want you to attend that school. I myself would be pleased to see you there. I even had a discussion with your mother about the topic and after talking about it for a while she agreed it was a good idea. Besides, this is a good opportunity to go out and meet all sorts of different people and really experience something you otherwise wouldn't learn from a textbook." Jonathan said with passion.

Rai however was silent for a moment before answering.

"…I guess. But I only wish to become as strong as I possibly can so that I will be able to protect Sakura and mother. I hope to be able to gain more power and strength by attending the academy."

"Your mother and sister huh…"

Rai's father then walked over and placed his hand on Rai's shoulder.

"You know son…Your mother was always something else. Even though she had a quiet and peaceful nature she was as clever as an owl and as tough as a rhino. Ah, I still the first day I met her. She really helped me out of a tough situation." Jonathon said with a smile on his face

"Dad…Not this story again; you've told me this about a thousand times already." Rai said with a sigh of embarrassment.

"Huh, but come on it's a great story…Oh well, I will spare you from your own father's tale this time. Anyways, how is it holding on the other end with you and Leila?" Rai's father said with a grin on his face.

"Huh…what are you getting at?" Rai questioned.

"You know what I'm talking about. Not only is she cute, but like your mother, she's smart and is pretty much your equal when it when it comes to a one-on-one fist fight. She also has some skill in piloting knightmares. You two are the perfect match for each other and…"

Before he could continue he was stopped by Rai.

"Enough! There is nothing special going on between us. We are just friends, nothing more." Rai promptly said."

"Oh, is that so…" Rai's father said disappointed before continuing on.

"And here I could easily arrange for the two of you to be engaged as well and...Never mind…No matter who you end up with in your future, I know you will find the right girl for you someday. That's what I believe anyways. But I kept you here long enough with my mindless babbling, it's time for you to go home son."

"Okay father." Rai said as he got his things together and left the hanger.

* * *

When Rai got home he went inside the dojo to see his mother meditating. As he walked up to her his mother suddenly called out to him.

"What brings you here Rai?"

"Um…Are you busy right now mother?"

"Not at all…Is there something you need from me?"

"I was wondering if you would teach me on how to use a sword."

"A sword? Are you asking because you feel like you are falling behind Leila in martial arts?"

"No, it's not because of that!" Rai said with a flustered face.

"It's just that I want to become as strong as I possibly can so I can protect you and Sakura…that's all."

"I see…Rai; you do know that I have long given up those kinds of activities but…"

"But…?"

"I will be more than glad to teach you."

Rai was happy to hear his mother say that.

"There is one condition you must follow before I teach you. It's the same as when I taught you martial arts…Do you remember?" His mother asked him.

"Yes, I remember…"

" _I will teach you how to fight only if you swear to use that power to protect the things and people you care about. You should never use power for your own selfish ends."_ Both Rai and his mother said at the same time.

"Good…You do remember. In that case I will train you. Just give me a moment to get ready." Rai's mother said as she headed for the back of the dojo.

When she came back she was carrying two wooden swords in her hands. She then gave one of them to Rai and then took her long hair and made it a ponytail so it wouldn't get in her face as she taught Rai on how to wield a sword.

"Now, are you ready?" She asked her son.

"Yes, I'm ready." Rai said as he readied his sword.

The two of them then spent most of the afternoon practicing on Rai's swordplay. While at first Rai was having difficulty using his weapon, after his mother showed him some of her own pointers he gradually got better and gained experience at wielding the weapon. Eventually his mother decided it was time to quit for the day.

"Okay, that's enough for today. We will continue the lessons tomorrow." Rai's mother announced.

"Huh…but I can keep going." Rai insisted while taking deep breaths.

His mother however quickly walked over to where Rai was standing and swiftly knocked the sword out of Rai's hand with her own and the weapon went spinning into the air.

"I said we were finished for the day. Resting is also a part of any type of training." His mother sharply said.

"Yeah, I know…But still…"

Rai then walked over to his mother and hugged her.

"Oh my, what's this for?" She asked him.

"I just wanted you to know that I love you." Rai replied.

"Oh, I see…I love you too." His mother said as she placed her arm around him and hugged him back.

After holding on to each other for a few minute they both finally let go of each other.

"Hey mother, can you show me your legendary sword…the one you used when you lived in Area 11?" Rai eagerly asked about her sword.

"My legendary sword…Who told you about that?" His mother asked confused.

"Father did of course. He always tells me stories about you and your legendary sword whenever I go take my knightmare operating lessons from him."

"I see…I'm sorry to tell you this but I no longer have that sword anymore Rai." His mother sorrowfully said.

"Huh…you don't…what happened to it?"

"You see, whenever I married your father, I gave that weapon to my sister who was still living in Area 11. It's in the hands of my sister's family now."

"Oh, I see…" Rai said disappointed.

His mother then rubbed her hand across Rai's hair.

"Rai, I'm sorry to ask this but can I get you do something for me?" Rai's mother asked him.

"Sure, what do you need me to do?" Rai questioned.

"Can you go get E.E. for me? I need to speak to her about something."

"Sure thing mother."

"She should be in the chapel right now. Once you find her tell her to come to my room so I can talk with her."

After saying that she left the dojo and headed for her room. Meanwhile Rai headed out to the chapel near the edge of town in search of E.E.

* * *

Once he arrived at his destination he climbed the short steps up to the chapel. As he was about to open the door however E.E. suddenly came out from within the chapel.

"Oh, it's you Rai. Did you need something from me?" E.E. calmly said.

"My mother wanted to speak to you. She's waiting for you in her room." Rai replied.

"I see…I will go see her then."

E.E. was then about to walk away until Rai suddenly stopped her.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you doing in there?"

Even though Rai knew that whenever E.E. wasn't with her mother, she was usually in the chapel doing something, he never really knew what exactly she was doing in there.

"You want to know what I was doing in there? Nothing really…I just simply like coming here is all. It's quiet and peaceful in there. Not only that but being here makes me reminisce about the past." E.E. simply replied.

"The past…Did something important to you happen when you were in a chapel in your past?"

When E.E. heard Rai ask that she paused for a moment and glared at him before answering.

"…That's something I don't really like to talk about or share with others. It's personal you see."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy or anything." Rai apologetically replied.

"In any case, let's just leave it at that then. I will see you later."

E.E. then headed back for the house.

Later on Rai then headed back to the dojo to work on his swordsmanship by himself.

* * *

After he finished his solo practice Rai returned to his house and was greeted by his sister Sakura inside the hallway.

"Welcome home, onii-chan!" Sakura said with a cheery smile on her face.

"Ah yes, and you too." Rai replied back.

Seeing the sight of his sister happy expression caused Rai to smile to himself.

"You have been gone for a long time onii-chan. It's almost time for supper." Sakura started to say.

"Huh, have I been out that long?" Rai said with surprised.

"Yeah, you were gone for practically the whole day. It's been like that for a while recently."

"Really, I haven't noticed."

"You have been training with mother and father almost every day now. You rarely play with me anymore; along with the fact that you might be moving away soon."

"You mean the military academy, you heard about that already?"

"I overheard mother and father discussing it to each other from time to time. It makes me kind of jealous actually. You get to meet all kinds of new people. Meanwhile, mother makes me stay inside all day and read books, saying I have to keep up with my studies." Sakura said in a disheartened tone of voice.

"That's because mother wishes for the best out of you. Also, I'm sorry I don't get the opportunity to play with you much anymore. Besides, I'm going through all this training so I will be able to protect you Sakura." Rai explained to her.

"But you're weak onii-chan…Even Leila-chan can beat you up in a fistfight; and from what I heard you are just barely able to match that Michael-san guy in those giant figurines you guys play in."

"Ugh…S-Sakura…Are you saying I'm really that weak?"

Hearing his sister say that took Rai aback as he didn't know how to respond and just look at his sister in shock.

Sakura just responded with a laugh at Rai's reaction.

"Haha…just kidding! I know you are just as strong as those other guys. Besides, I know that you will always be there to protect me, right?" Sakura continued to say.

"O-Of course!" Rai quickly blurted out as he tried to recover his composure.

"Hey, can I ask you something, onii-chan?" Sakura said in a more serious tone of voice.

"Huh, what is it?'

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"What do I want to be when I grow up? I am going to be a knight of course. Then I will be able to use my position to protect both you and mother."

"Haha…I knew you would say that. It sounds just like you to want to become a knight. As for me, I think I want to be an ar-chae-ol-o-gist…yeah, I think I said that correctly."

"An archaeologist…why that?"

"Why…? So that way I will be about to experience and see history with my own two eyes instead of reading about it from a book. Besides, I always loved the idea of going out and traveling the whole world like mother did in her youth when she went on an adventure with our nanny E.E."

"Yeah, I believe mother did tell us some stories about that when we were younger."

"Hey onii-chan, will you still come on an archaeologist adventure with me and protect me even after you become a knight?"

"Of course, I would be honored too!" Rai proudly said as he pounded his chest with his right hand.

"Yay!" Sakura happily shouted.

"Anyways, it is about time for supper so we get ready to eat."

After Rai said that both he and his sister headed off for the dining room.

* * *

 **6:43 P.M. December 9, 2015 a.t.b.**

A smile etched across Rai's face as he ran down the path through the woods. Clutched in his arms was the school uniform of the military academy Rai was going to be attending soon. He has just recently reached the outskirts of his hometown after going out and taking a tour of the academy.

" _I can't wait for mother to see this. She would be so happy to see me right now…"_ Rai internally thought to himself.

Rai eventually made it to the edge of town where the chapel was.

" _Hmmm…I wonder if E.E. is in the chapel right now."_ Rai thought to himself as he started up the stairs to the chapel.

However, when Rai got to the door he was about to open it when he noticed there was a small pile of blood splattered on the floor.

" _Huh, is that a speck of…blood on the floor…but why…"_

Rai took note and wonder what this meant as he cautiously opened the door.

When the door was fully opened Rai saw a person garbed in a black-painted uniform of a britannian soldier standing behind it. They had dark colored hair and was a mask to cover the skin on their face and also to presumably conceal their identity. Only their eyes, nose, and the lips of their mouth were visible. It seemed like they were already waiting for someone to appear and was equipped with a pistol ready in their hand.

Rai noticed the pistol in the stranger's hand and quickly dropped his uniform and sidestepped to the right as he heard a gunshot go off. After seeing the assailant step outside the door Rai quickly pulled his sword, which was gifted to him by his mother recently for finishing his sword training, brought it out and charged at his foe.

Before the assailant could react Rai swiftly attacked and sliced into the enemy's right arm with his sword. The assailant did nothing but wailed out in pain as they dropped their weapon. Rai then used this distraction to kick the pistol back inside the chapel and attempted to attack his assailant once more.

However, this time the assailant leaped off the chapel's balcony and simply stared at Rai with anger before fleeing the area. Rai just simply watched his assailant leave the area before putting his sword back away.

" _Who in the world was that…Were they wearing a Britannian uniform…And why did it seem like they were waiting for someone to come here…What is…"_

As Rai contemplated on what the event that just occurred he suddenly heard what sounded like an explosion go off inside town.

" _Huh…what was that…?"_

As Rai came back to reality he looked down at the town and saw smoke rising on the other edge of town. Sensing the danger of what that might meant Rai rushed to the town as quickly as he could.

As Rai entered the town he saw that destruction has already spread everywhere. Buildings started to crumble and a huge fire was spread throughout the whole town.

"W-What's going on here? Is it a…terrorist attack?" Rai said out loud to himself as he sprinted further into town as civilians were trying to get out of town. Rai attempted to get answers out of some of them but even in a crisis like this they ignored him and brushed Rai aside. He eventually made it back home and immediately stormed into his own house.

Inside it looked completely barren. Despite that, Rai tried to call out for his family.

"Mother, Father, Sakura…E.E.!" Rai shouted out the name of his family members one by one but not a single of them responded.

He searched the entire house as well as his mother's dojo but not a single soul was found. Where were they, have they already fled or were they...?

Questions flooded Rai's mind he headed back outside and onto the sidewalk. As Rai took a few steps forward another explosion happened, this time right behind him.

Rai quickly spun around and saw that his house, which was there a few seconds ago was now gone, reduced to a pile of rubble.

Rai just stood planted where he was for a moments; the shock of what just happened kept him in place.

" _If I was in there for just a few more minutes I would have…"_

Soon Rai noticed a Sutherland covered in black paint heading in his direction and forced himself to come back to reality. It appeared the pilot of the approaching Sutherland hasn't noticed him yet as they appeared to be busy destroying everything else.

" _Whoever is attacking our town has knightmares as well? I have to find everyone quickly…Maybe further downtown…?"_

Rai soon thought of his next destination. Maybe everyone dear to him was trapped deeper in town. After setting out on his next destination Rai weaved his way further downtown, all while avoiding the knightmares as well as staying out of view of more of those people wearing those dark uniforms and masks.

* * *

As Rai ventured further into his hometown he thought he heard a faint sound amongst all the chaos going on around him. It sounded like metal beating off each other, like swords. The thought of swords being used made Rai think of two people currently engaging in combat, and he suddenly began hoping who one of those people were.

Rai immediately decided to head in that direction until his path was blocked by a metal fence. However, at the bottom of the slope that the fence blocked Rai saw two people currently engaging in combat against one another. Those two people were Rai's mother and father.

"Huh…Wha…What's going on here…Why is Mother and Father…Mother! Father!" Rai shouted as he gripped his fingers on the metal fence.

Rai didn't know how to comprehend this situation. He didn't understand why his mother and father were fighting each other as if they were trying to kill each other. He tried to call out to them several times but his voice did not appear to reach them.

With his voice unheard and the path before him blocked Rai had no choice but to go around.

As Rai headed down another avenue to get where his parents were he suddenly heard both his mother and father give out a shriek before everything went silent. Rai didn't hear anything else coming in their direction which only made him pick up the pace.

Once Rai finally arrived at the scene he was horrified with what he saw as gasped his mouth open.

Both his mother and father were collapsed on the ground facedown. Jonathan was impaled by Shizuka's sword with his body was stiff and still. Shizuka meanwhile was breathing heavily as blood was gushing out of a wound on her back. Rai went and approached his mother first.

"…To think…that someone was here…waiting to jump me at the end…I let…my guard down…" Shizuka murmured to herself.

"Mother…Mother!" Rai shouted as came to Shizuka's side.

"…W-Who's there…Rai…why…are you here…?" Rai's mother said as she struggled to speak or move.

"That doesn't matter right now. Mother, why were you and father fighting each other. I saw it and…"

"…I don't know…It all happened so fast…Your father suddenly started to act strange…He attacked Sakura and…cough…everything else started to happened…it was almost if he was being…manipulated by someone with…the power of…cough-cough-cough…"

Before she could finish Shizuka started to cough up more blood.

"Mother, maybe you should stop talking now. You need medical attention and…"

Rai then stepped down and tried to help his mother up. However, Shizuka just weakly raised her hand in front of him.

"…Stop…please…it's already…too late for me…I've already bled some much…"

"But mother…!"

"…It's too dangerous here…you have to go…Find EE…She will…protect you… like she always have for the Sumeragi family…"

"But…"

"Sakura is with her too so…Ugh…"

The pain from Shizuka's wounds were starting to catch up to her as her head drop.

"Mother…?"

Rai went over to hold onto his mother in his arms despite her weight feeling heavy.

"…I'm sorry…but I think this is it for me…I can barely see or speak anymore…but before I go…I just want to say…Thank you for the last fifteen years…The time I got to spend with you, your sister, your father, and everyone else I knew…I cherish all those memories…And I hope that…even after I'm gone…that you will be able to live on…and not have to live in a world filled with colorless memories…"

His mother then started to get quiet again before speaking.

"…This…is…goodbye…Rai…"

As Shizuka slowly spoke her eyes started to close. Once they were completely shut Rai could do nothing but hold his mother tight while tears showered out of his own eyes.

"…Mother…Noooooooooo…!"

* * *

Eventually, Rai gathered the strength to leave the area his mother and father were at. At this point whoever attacked the town has decided to leave.

Rai meanwhile was just walking slowly and randomly walked around town. He had no destination and just continued to slump his feet around with dim eyes and had his back bent over.

Soon enough, after walking for a while he noticed someone walking in his direction. It was E.E. who was covered in her blood. She looked so badly beat up that Rai couldn't understand how she could still be moving like that.

Rai just simply stood there and stared at her while noticing that E.E. was all by herself.

"Rai, what are you doing here? Then again, I guess that's not important right now. Have you seen Shizuka?"

Rai however, just squinted his eyes to hold the tears back and simply stared down at the ground before speaking.

"…Mother…she and father…"

"Hmmm…Please, tell me."

Rai then took a moment to explain everything that happened since he returned.

"…I see…Shizuka…she and Jon…"

"E.E., where is Sakura…She is safe isn't she?"

"Huh, Sakura…? Ummm…about that…"

"...E.E., don't tell me…"

"I'm sorry. We were trying to escape the town with a group of civilians when a knightmare appeared…Your sister was already suffering injuries from Jon's weapon…I was the only one who made it out and still ended up looking like this. Your sister however…didn't make it…"

After hearing that Rai didn't even have the will to stand and simply fell on his knees with angst all over his face. His spirit was crushed. Everything was gone. The people who were most important to him were gone now, and he would never see them again.

"Mother…Father…Sakura…Everyone…The people I wished to protect…they are gone now…What do I do now…What do I…" Rai just continued to murmur to himself.

After seeing Rai fall to the ground in turmoil E.E. walked over to the broken boy and held the boy in her arms.

"There there now…everything will be alright. Do not worry, no matter what I won't let anything happen to you. You are all that I have left of them."

Rai didn't say anything and simply held on tight to E.E. while tears continued to flow out of his eyes.

"We will find out who those people were, and when we do they will pay greatly for this! We will discover the truth…together." E.E. continued to the say.

"The…truth…" Rai murmured to himself.

* * *

 **6:00 A.M. January 14, 2016 a.t.b.**

It was a cloudy morning, almost as if it was about to do something. Outside in front of what used to be Rai's home was Leila Malcal, who was looking at three gravestones that was placed in front of the house, one for each of the three people that used to live there. On each of the tombstones there was a name for each person, one that said Shizuka Sumeragi, one that said Jonathan Thurston, and the last one that simply said Sakura. Leila simply stared at the tombstones with sadness in her eyes.

Meanwhile, about half a mile away Rai simply looked over behind his shoulders and watched her while he concealed himself behind the broken remains of a wall that used to form a house.

"There's still time to change your mind you know." Rai heard E.E. say as she sat right next to him behind the chipped wall.

"You can go over there and talk to her; you can ask her to take you to the E.U. You know that girl would do anything she could to help you." E.E. continued to say.

"And what, be used by the E.U. government for political gain and be forced to serve the army like her, no thanks. Besides, I have already decided to accept the offer made by that guy who calls himself the 'Wizard' and join Peace Mark." Rai sharply responded.

"You should also remember that I told you to be wary of that man. I do not trust him one bit." E.E. replied back.

"I'm aware of that. However, it seems like Peace Mark has a whole network of channels throughout the world. You can probably found out all sorts of information through Peace Mark."

"I see. You plan to use the network through Peace Mark to find out who attacked your family."

"Yeah, that's why…"

Rai then paused for a moment and looked back over at Leila, who was putting flowers in front of the graves.

"I have decided not to interfere in her life. She will just be a distant memory of my past. The same goes for Steinburg. I don't want them to get caught in my family's lineage which seemed to have started this in the first place."

Rai then looked over at Leila one last time and saw her folding her hands and giving a short prayer. He then saw Leila get and starting to leave the area. Once she was out of view Rai also gathered his things and proceeded to leave the area with E.E. all while snowflakes started to fall where the tombstones were.

* * *

 **3:32 P.M. May 17, 2017 a.t.b.**

For the next year and a half Rai spent his time being a mercenary for Peace Mark. Along with E.E.'s assistance Rai used the sword his mother gave him and took his father's blue Glasgow that was left behind back at the training center.

Despite all the work Rai put into Peace Mark he never came across any information of the group that attacked his hometown except that it might have been an organization within Britannia. However, Rai already knew that it could have been any people, group, or thing based on how people from Britannia usually were.

One day however, the Wizard himself approached Rai and advised that maybe he should consult one of the member of the Knights of the Round about this, since his father Jonathan apparently was involved in the attack somehow. Most importantly, the Wizard told Rai that he should go after the Knight of One himself, Bismarck Waldstein.

E.E. however, protested that Rai shouldn't attempt to tackle any of the Knights of the Round yet.

Instead of listening to her though, Rai decided to ignore her words for once and proceeded to head out to the Bahamas, just outside the Britannian homeland and was the place where Bismarck requested for personal governance using his privileges as Knight of One.

Rai headed out for Nassau, the capital city of the Bahama Islands and quickly hatched out his assault on the Knight of One's personal villa, which was located on a small, lone island right outside the capital. He quietly infiltrated the villa, managed to catch one of the maids off guard, and extorted information from her on Bismarck's current where about, who was currently investigating an underground cavern near the villa.

* * *

As Rai approached his destination he started to move out very slowly and carefully as not to attract the attention of any of Bismarck's personal soldiers. However, when Rai arrived there no guards, soldiers or anyone else around.

" _Strange, I figured the Knight of One would at least bring a small squadron with him at all times. Maybe deeper inside…"_

Rai eventually decided to enter the cavern, all while keeping his guard up and being aware his surroundings.

Eventually, Rai ventured so deep into the cavern that it was pitch dark inside. He took out a flashlight and flicked it on so he could see and continue his excavation, all the while keeping a vigilant watch of the environment. As Rai continued onward he had as of yet to come across anyone. He began wondering if that maid lied to him, maybe even setting him up for a trap.

As Rai continued onward he began to think of a number of possibilities of what would be waiting for him at the end or if he should abandon this opportunity and leave.

It was then that Rai noticed strange markings on the wall. As he flung the lighting of his flashlight on the wall Rai noticed strange hieroglyphs marked on the walls.

" _Are these…hieroglyphs? I never knew the Bahamas history stretched so far back. I never read about this in textbooks."_

Rai continued to marvel at the hieroglyphs for a moment before venturing further in. As he moved on Rai eventually came at a dead end of what he presumed to be the bottom of the unnamed cavern.

The surrounding area seemed to be highlighted with a pitch of cerulean blue and gave off the idea that Rai really was underwater. There was even a small pool like area where water was falling down from a tiny waterfall. There was also light shining down from what seemed to be several stories up with a hole up on the caverns' ceiling. However, from where Rai was standing that hole seems to be very minuscule in size.

Rai then looked over where several pillars were standing, which seems to have stairs leading up to platform that contained a worn down door on the wall. However, there was also someone standing on the platform with their back turned against Rai.

"You…You're…"

Even without seeing their face Rai was aware of who it was. That person standing up there, they would easily be recognized by anyone in the Holy Britannian Empire, and their greatest enemies as well. The person then turned around and looked down at Rai. That white attire he wears, that dark blue hair of his, that beard he has on his chin, his right blue eye staring down at Rai while he left eye remains sewn shut, the man who is called 'The Strongest Knight' of them all, it can be none other than…

"Bismarck Waldstein…" Rai slowly pronounce the name.

The man grinned when he heard the name called out and turned around. He then started to walk down the steps while holding something in his right hand.

"Well well, if it isn't the son of the late Knight of Eight himself. I knew you had to turn up somewhere eventually." Bismarck said for a greeting.

"You…already knew I was still alive?"

"It wasn't that hard to figure out. There were only three tombstones there and your name was not on any of them."

Rai was silent for a moment before answering back in a calm tone of voice.

"Yeah, well…Maybe I did that on purpose. You know, to leave a hint of my existence to those who know me."

"Anyways, why are you here? Let me guess, E.E. sent you here, didn't she?"

"No, I came here on my own accord. I need to ask you a few things."

"Let me take another guess, you want to know about the group that attacked your town and your family. Forget it; that is still something that is being investigated by Office of Secret Intelligence. And unfortunately, the way things are going it could take years for them to learn the full story."

Rai just gritted his teeth when he heard Bismarck say that. He pulled out his sword and aimed it at the Knight of One.

"Look, I didn't come here for answers that you would give a child. I came to learn the truth. I have reasons to believe Britannia was involved in it and if you don't want to cooperate with me, I guess I will have to take you in as my prisoner and then force Britannia to give me answers."

Bismarck couldn't help himself but laugh out loud at Rai's statement.

"Hahaha…such a bold statement and yet, such ludicrous! You say you are not a child and then you had to say something like that?! I never knew you were capable of coming up with such jokes."

"I meant what I said."

There was no sarcasm in Rai's voice.

"Ha, you really think you can do it don't you; defeat the Knight of One himself?"

"Well I was trained by the Knight of Eight and the Silent Grass Cutter themselves. Besides, if I take you down here that will surely cause panic in Britannia as well as get looked down upon by the other countries."

"Ah, so there is some kind of reasoning behind your insane logic. And it's true, you were fortunate to have Jonathan and Shizuka as both your mentors and parents. All of us in the Knights of the Round had high hopes for you including myself and especially Lady Nonnette, and most importantly your father."

"Yeah, well you know that it's every Britannian boy's dream to one day become one of the Knights of the Round. I was no exception. To stand as one of the twelve elites knights and be regarded as the best Britannia has to offer. As a Knight of the Round, you stand above all others. Not even the nobles or even the Imperial Family can touch you. I however, have decided to become even better than all the Knights of the Round if that is what it takes to learn the truth."

"Heh, you really think you can take us at your current level. However, I think you will find that if you pick a fight with me, you will discover that I am in a completely different league compared to my colleagues, thanks to this of course." Bismarck said as he paused for a moment and turned his head over to look at the sword currently within its sheath.

"I'm sure you know already but this is the legendary Excalibur itself." Bismarck continued to say.

"That's only in name only. It's not actually the same sword told in the legends." Rai said in disbelief.

Bismarck just simply chuckled at Rai's remark.

"You say that but…I think you will find that this sword is more than worthy of living up to Excalibur's name. After all, Emperor Charles himself deemed me worthy of it and allowed me to pull this sword out of the slab of stone it was sleeping in."

"Enough of this…It's time I put you down!" Rai bellowed as he charged straight for Bismarck.

"…Very well." The Knight of One calmly responded.

Rai charged up the staircase with his sword ready and attempted a vertical slice on Bismarck's shoulder. The Knight of One simply blocked it however by holding his sword's sheath right in front of himself, using it as a shield. After Rai's sword landed on the sheath Bismarck shoved it forward, causing Rai to fall aback. Bismarck then pulled the Excalibur itself out and threw the sheath aside.

Rai just took a moment to examine what the Excalibur actually looked like, as he never got an up close look at it before.

It was a two handed sword with a blue and golden color scheme along with a red orb embedded on the hilt of the sword.

"Is that all the strength you have? If you are going for a head on assault at least go at it full force, like this!"

Bismarck was the one to make the next move. He used both hands to get a good grip on the Excalibur, and like Rai did, headed straight for his target, all while a glow started to shine from the orb inside the Excalibur.

"Hmmm…what is that light…and is that a symbol I see…" Rai whispered to himself.

However, Rai didn't have much time to observe the Excalibur as he quickly had to defend himself. Rai parried the Excalibur by using his own sword.

"Heh, you can't stop me with that…Be blown away!" Bismarck shouted out.

Before Rai knew it his feet was in the air and was suddenly knocked off the platform and onto the ground below the steps. He landed right on his back.

"Come on now, is that really all you got? I know I'm wielding Excalibur but I know you can do better than this."Bismarck taunted Rai as he swung his sword again despite the huge distance between the two of them.

From Bismarck's position Rai felt a large gust of wind blow past him. After the wind subsided Rai felt nothing for a moment until he twitched his eyes as he felt a cut on his left cheek as well as several scratches on the exposed skin of his arms.

" _Huh, what's…happening? At first I thought he just rammed itself me but it felt like a gust of air picked me up and then threw me aside. And then when he swung his sword again; it felt like he summoned up another wave of air to strike me with. But…how is that possible…"_ Rai thought to himself as he tried to come up with a logical solution of what just happened to him.

"Come now, that's enough of this. I'm only using a fraction of Excalibur's power and it's obvious you are still lacking in experience." Bismarck said as he put the Excalibur away.

"…Hey, don't tell me you are giving up already. Are you saying that I'm weak?" Rai retorted.

Bismarck however ignored Rai comment.

"I don't know where you have been or what you have been doing for the last year or so but isn't it about time to put an end to this charade? I know you just attacked me and all but because you are Jonathan's and Shizuka's kid I'm willing to overlook that fact and will give you a chance to come back into Britannian society. We in the Knights of the Round will even personally watch after you ourselves." Bismarck suggested.

"…Thanks but no thanks. Until I learn the whole truth of what happened that day I can't trust anyone from Britannia…And besides, I don't need the Knights of the Round to act as my guardians as I already have someone for that…I'm sorry."

After finishing his response with an apology Rai put his sword away and exited the cave without saying a word.

Bismarck also didn't react and simply allowed Rai to flee. After Rai was gone Bismarck just quietly commented to himself.

"So you decided to stick with E.E. huh? It doesn't seem like she has given you the power yet but once she hears of your encounter with me then…"

"Lord Bismarck!"

A group of people wearing masks with feathers on their head and garbed in a dark cloak approached Bismarck.

"Oh, it's you people." Bismarck commented.

"Lord Bismarck, we just heard you getting into a fight with someone. Was it her…has she come back to interfere with our plan?" One of the masked people asked.

"Should we give chase after them?" Another one of them said.

"No, there is no need to worry. It was only a young squire who is fueled by vengeance. Just let him go lick his wounds for now."

"But, Lord Bismarck…"

Before answering Bismarck went over and sat down by the staircase.

"It's fine. He knows nothing of you guys…yet. I have already dealt with him personally and from what I saw he poses no threat to the Order. Besides, as long as I continue to wield the ancient powers of old such as this sword and the power sealed in my left eye he has no hope of defeating me."

"If that is what you have concluded, Lord Bismarck…"

* * *

"So you decided to go through with it all despite my warnings…You were lucky that Bismarck went easy on you." E.E. said to Rai who was currently placing ointment on the scratches caused by Excalibur's attack.

"I acted cocky on purpose to bait him and get Bismarck to underestimate me. I was merely testing the waters…to see how big the gap was between me and them."

"So, you were saying that Bismarck has the Excalibur and that he is able to control the wind with it?" E.E. said.

"Yeah, I'm still not sure what trickery he did to do that, but even putting that aside I don't think I can beat him or the others the way I am now, at least not without getting crafty anyways. If only I could get more power somehow…"

When E.E. heard Rai say that she walked over and stood in front of him.

"You say you need more power huh…I think I can help with that."

"Huh…and how do you intend to do that?"

"It's something I was going to share with you after you became an adult via Shizuka's request but I believe now is the time to talk about it."

"What are you trying to say…"

"Your mother gave you a proper education and taught you self combat; your father shared with you military strategies and how to use those Knightmare Frames; and I shall tell you a secret about this world known as Geass."

"Hmmm…Geass…?"

* * *

 **4:31 P.M. June 3, 2017 a.t.b.**

Once Rai and E.E. left the airport station they arrived at the Tokyo Settlement.

"So, the Kusanagi is here huh? I remember mother telling me that a long time ago." Rai was the first to comment.

"Yes, I personally returned the blade to this country and decided to hide it inside the Sumeragi Shrine. The only ones who know about this are Shizuka's relatives. However, I heard most of them perished in the Second Pacific War so…"

"Which means they won't be able to help us." Rai concluded.

"No matter; I will personally guide you there."

As they both stepped outside E.E. stopped and looked up at the sky.

"My, this land sure has changed since your mother and I lived here."

"You and my mother lived here for a long time didn't you?"

"I've been in this country for a long time before your mother started dragging me around everywhere…Yes, for a long time I…" E.E. said spacing out.

"Come on, we got things to do." Rai said as E.E. started to follow him.

They started to head out and made their way through the settlement until they reached the city's edge. Both Rai and E.E. figured they could get to their next destination faster by cutting through the ghettos.

Once they were in the ghettos it was already evening. Rai had hoped he would make it to the shrine already but because Rai has never visited Area 11 before he was unfamiliar with the region as he tried to observe the landscape.

As Rai and E.E. continued to walk down the streets she suddenly whispered something to him.

"Rai, we're being watched."

"Yeah…I know." Rai said as he began to pull out his katana.

An explosion then went off near them. The two moved away and then saw a figure approaching from the smoke. The figure from the smoke was wearing a black colored leather outfit and was completely covered up. He also had a black leather mask on and the only human feature you could see on this man was his eyes, which were strangely glowing in a violet hue with a bird like symbol in the center of his eyes. Rai couldn't tell if he was even human.

Rai was then ready to attack the mysterious person with his sword but when he looked into the figures eyes he couldn't move.

"W-What the…why can't I move…" Rai said as his body stopped moving and started to shake.

"Rai, what's wrong?" E.E. called out to him.

"I…don't know. I just looked into his eyes and suddenly can't stop shaking. I feel like my body is scared or something. Is this that Geass thing you were talking about before?" Rai said as he looked down at his hand which wouldn't stop shaking.

"A Geass that affects the emotions of the human body huh." E.E. said as she stared back at the masked man.

Rai then took a closer at the figure's eyes and saw that he had bird-like sigils in both of his eyes which meant…

"You have a Geass…!" Rai yelled out.

"Ha, a lucky guess! However, that information is going to do you little good in just a few moment when I exterminate the both of you!" The figure said in a deep male voice as he pulled out a piece of Sakuradite and threw it at Rai.

"Watch out!" E.E. shouted at the petrified Rai.

However, since Rai couldn't get his body moving he was about to be struck by the rock until E.E. rushed over and pushed him out of the way. The Sakuradite then stuck onto E.E.'s clothes.

"W-What is this?" E.E. said as she tried to pull the rock off but it continued to stick onto her.

"You're not going to be able to pull that off lass. That is a special bomb made by a secret research division and is condensed of a special sticky surface on the outside that will stick to anything. And now…you get the honors of being its first test subject!" The figure said as he pushed a button on his remote which caused a timer on the bomb to start ticking.

Tried as she might E.E. couldn't get the bomb off her before it exploded.

"E.E.!" Rai yelled out as the force of the explosion caused him to fall backwards.

When the smoke clouds disappeared only a huge blood stain on the floor where E.E. was standing remained.

"Well, what do you know…it blew her to hell! It's a good thing I got rid of the more annoying one first. And you over there, you are probably going to be fueled with rage now aren't you?"

"Rrrrgh…Why you…!"

As Rai looked back over at the masked man whatever fear he had disappeared and was replaced with anger and contempt. Even though Rai was aware his emotions were being messed with he still decided to charge straight for his foe with his sword in his hand and attacked the man. The masked enemy however parried Rai and his katana by using a rapier as his weapon.

"After seeing what I just done you are just going to charge right at me with no plan whatsoever? Aren't you a little too hot headed right now hmmm?" The masked man gleefully taunted.

"Be quiet...I'm too mad at you right now. Just go down already!" Rai replied as he kept attacking aggressively.

"But right now you are like a raging bull during a tercio de muerte and I am the matador assigned with taking you down. Like so…"

The masked man then stepped aside as Rai lunged forward with his sword and swung at nothing in front of him. Rai was then struck in the side by the rapier.

"Ugh…" Rai grunted as he felt the rapier go into his body.

The masked stranger then raised his foot and kicked Rai away in order to retrieve his weapon. He then rushed over and hit Rai's stomach with his left knee and then punched Rai in the face, knocking the katana out of his hands and sent the boy flying into a ruined wall. The figure then discarded his own rapier and picked up Rai's sword.

"This is a hopeless fight for you. You cannot win!" The masked man said.

Rai just simply stared back at his foe while trying to catch his breath.

"He's right. I can't beat him the way my head is all messed up right now. I guess now is that rare time E.E. advised me to use it…" Rai murmured to himself as he covered his right eye.

"Hmmm…what are you mumbling about over there? This is the end for you." The masked man proclaimed as he casually walked over to Rai's position.

"I can see it…your current intentions…you plan to fake me out on the left and then strike on the right." Rai whispered as he got himself ready in position.

"What…?"

The masked man ignored Rai's words and prepared to attack him on the left, just as Rai predicted. He then continued on and dragged the sword through a horizontal motion through the air on his right hoping to strike Rai as he moved away.

However, Rai already saw this coming and ducked under the attack. Rai then followed up by kicking his enemy's right arm, causing him to drop the sword and allowing Rai to retrieve it.

"And now you are going to try to attack me with that strange detonator again." Rai boldly predicted.

"Okay, no more messing around. Time to get rid of you for real now!" The masked man said with anger in his voice as he pulled out his bomb and started the timer on it. It almost seemed like he was being blinded by rage now.

But like before, Rai seemed aware of what the masked man planned to do and already lunged into action.

Before his adversary got to do anything Rai struck the detonator what his sword, which caused the explosive to be stuck on the tip of the blade now. Since his opponent had no way to defend himself Rai used his sword and stabbed the masked man in the stomach, causing both the blade and bomb to be stuck inside him.

"What…?" The masked man said with shock.

"There, let's see how you like to be blown into nothingness!" Rai said with confidence.

"Why you…!" The masked man shouted as he reached his arm out towards Rai.

However, before the masked man got to do anything a beeper went off inside his stomach and soon the bomb exploded, causing Rai who was nearby to be blown back and knocked into another nearby wall, the force of the explosion almost knocking the air out of him.

"Hah, is it finally over…?"

When the smoke cleared Rai looked over where his recent opponent was and could only see a huge blood stain on the ground along with the hilt of what used to be Rai's sword. That was all that remained.

Knowing that the man was now gone Rai simply sighed with relief. He then slowly but gradually got back up on his feet. He didn't know exactly what to do next but he at least knew he had to go get some rest somewhere and slowly started to head back for the settlement.

As he reached the border between the ghettos and the settlement Rai came across a girl with long green hair. She somehow reminded him of E.E.

"So, you're Rai." The girl called out to him.

"Huh…do you know me?" Rai said with a confused look on his tired face.

"E.E. told me everything about you."

"You know E.E.? Are you two related or something?"

"I guess you could say that…But we're not related in the way you are probably thinking."

"Really…She never told me about you…Unless…"

"Do you want me to help you?" C.C. said as she interrupted Rai.

"Huh…"

"I asked if you wanted me to help you. After all, you don't look so good in your current condition."

"Well, I would appreciate it if you could help me out."

"While I'm perfectly okay with helping you out, it's going to cost you."

"Okay, what do you want me to do for you?"

"Oh, nothing really...You will just have to entertain me for a while and make yourself useful to me in the future." C.C. said as she poked Rai in the head.

When she did that a jolt of electricity went through Rai's mind and he fell unconscious as he collapsed onto the ground.

"When you wake up, you will have no memories of your past. I look forward to seeing how someone like you will act when they have no clue of who they used to be."

After fixing the boy up with some ointment C.C. helped Rai stand back up.

"Now run…and live." C.C. whispered to the boy.

Rai slowly opened his eyes and then started to run off into the settlement, not realizing that he was unconsciously being guided by C.C.'s thoughts.

C.C. then looked at a nearby television to see Zero and the Black Knight's debut at Lake Kawaguchi.

"You better watch out Lelouch, tomorrow you will have an unexpected guest visiting your school." C.C. said as she walked away with a mischievous grin on her face.

The next day Rai spent the whole day running around the settlement before finally collapsing in front of Ashford Academy. He was later found and taken in by Milly Ashford and Lelouch Lamperouge.

 **Moving on to the next Stage…**

 _Author's Note: NSBleach00 here. Phew, another chapter down. After spending several months on it it's still probably the longest and most difficult chapter for me to write, especially deciding what to put in and what to keep covered up. Tons of characters were introduced and plenty of events happened in just one chapter._

 _As like before, this chapter is meant to allow everyone to get a glimpse and answer the question of Rai's past while at the same time raise more questions and allowing to story to start becoming its own identity._

 _Now, to address a few things. First off yes, I still plan to include characters from Code Geass spinoffs like Akito the Exiled and OZ of Reflection. Leila Malcal for example is still planned to be in this story as a major or minor character as I feel Akito the Exiled didn't do her enough justice. The Wizard from OZ of Reflection, the leader of the anti-Britannian group called Peace Mark, was also mentioned but his scenes were omitted in this chapter after I felt it would be better to show them later through a different point of view (hint:future backstage chapter)._

 _Finally yes, I plan to incorporate these magic-like weapons into Code Geass to go along with the Geass origins. It's something I have been meaning to introduce and only hinted out back in the original story long ago but I just never found the right scene to showcase them in. Of course these 'ancient weapons' don't exist in the actual Code Geass canon. It is just something I thought of so that every fight scene isn't done with knightmares while also having something to go with the lore of the history of Geass I plan to cover later in the story._

 _Anyways, I believe that's everything I wished to point out. I hope it was an enjoyable chapter. Till next time._


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